Only Stone on the Outside
by Dreamsinger
Summary: AZ, LG. The hardest lies to disprove are the ones you tell yourself. An irresistible odyssey through the realms of land, sea and air...and the heart.
1. Chapter One: A Reunion in Seyrune

Only Stone on the Outside

a Slayers fanfic

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing too descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friend Shell Presto, a wonderfully talented writer/artiste (check out her A/Z story One Third Human) for her invaluable editing commentary. Thanks also to Marie, for being my faithful sounding board and offering ingenious solutions to convoluted plot problems.

Note: I prefer the spelling 'Seyrune', because a rune is a sort of magic chant, which would make sense in this case. 

* * * 

In the kingdom of Seyrune, in the depths of the royal palace, a single candle casts its light over a young black-haired princess. She is crouched over a weathered old book, surrounded by hundreds more, on shelves and tabletops and floorboards. 

Suddenly she glances up, a triumphant look on her face. She leaps to her feet, pointing two fingers skyward. "Victory!" Her shout of joy echoes up and down the palace's dark corridors. 

Chapter One: A Reunion in Seyrune

Zelgadis Greywyrs sat on the stone ledge and looked at the object he held. Amelia's ward bracelet. It sat there innocently in his hand; just a dark-blue metal ball with a star engraved on it, threaded through a scrap of pink cloth. He had a decision to make, however, and the meaning imbued in this bracelet would count heavily toward his conclusion. 

Musing, the silver-haired chimera recalled how he had come to be here. Ten months ago, he'd been with Lina, Amelia and Gourry, caught in the battle between a Golden Dragon, and an Ancient Dragon, with demons and gods and other assorted riff-raff thrown in. As usual, Lina had managed to pull off another miracle, and saved the world. As usual, he'd not even gotten so much as a hint as to where to find his cure. 

After they parted ways he discovered, to his surprise, that he'd grown used to the company, to having people around to talk to, if only to grumble at. And the _acceptance_--to be able to just be himself, to not have to hide his face… To have people look at him as if he were normal, without the slightest consideration that his features were disfigured or monstrous. _Friends. Real friends_.

He'd spent ten months traveling around, following obscure clues that led nowhere, learning all over again to hide his face. To be a silent observer, never involving himself in the lives of the people he met. 

He'd come to realize that people like Amelia and the others were rare. While most people could control themselves enough to strike a business deal with him, he could still see the suspicion, the fear, and most of all, the disgust in their eyes when they looked at him. He was careful not to tell anyone just _why_ he was on his quest. He'd learned through bitter experience that people would take advantage of that knowledge.

Now, about ten months after he'd parted ways with his friends, a runner delivered a message to him. It was from Amelia. Surprised, he wondered how she had managed to locate him. After a few moments, his curiosity had him opening the seal. The message was brief: 

__

Dear Mister Zelgadis, I've been searching for a cure for you ever since I got back, and yesterday I came across something in a very old White Magic book that mentions a man with a condition like yours! Please come back to the Palace as soon as possible. It was signed simply, _Amelia_.

His first reaction was flaring hope. _A cure_! Then, cynical as usual_: It figures. Whatever you're looking for is always in the last place you were going to look. _Finally, bemused, he stared at the letter, written no doubt by Amelia herself, in rounded feminine hand script. _Good old Amelia_, he thought. _So she _did_ do some searching on her own._

He was unprepared for the fond gratitude that rose up inside him, a tender affection that took him by surprise even as it warmed him. He realized that he'd missed her. _I'm not even sure why_. _Whenever I think of her, I remember how incredibly annoying some of her habits were. But_… He also remembered how quick she'd always been to come to his defense…her irrepressible effervescence…the look in her big dark-blue eyes when she'd said goodbye to him. 

The slender chimera set out immediately, no longer bothering to wear his cowl and face mask. It would take him four days, setting a pace no normal man could have matched. He barely took time out to eat or sleep. On the third night, he dreamed of a conversation he'd had over a year ago with Lina. Actually, she'd been teasing him about Amelia's supposed 'crush' on him, because she loved to see him blush. 

Amelia had gone off with the others to buy some provisions for the next leg of their trip. Zelgadis and Lina were waiting for them--where else?--in the dining hall of their inn. The chimera could tell Lina was up to something when she looked at him with a wicked gleam in her eyes that made him nervous--on general principles. 

"So, romeo," Lina had said in an overly-casual tone, "When are you going to pop the question to Amelia?"

He'd almost sprayed the tea he was drinking all over the tabletop. "When am I going to _what?"_

"Oh, you mean you don't _want _to marry Little Miss Justice?" Lina had teased. "She'll be sooo disappointed. Heartbroken. You knowhow she _hangs _on your every word. How she always tries to sit next to you; how she looks to you for approval. 'Right, Mister Zelgadis?'" Lina imitated the girl's high soprano.

Zelgadis had frowned at her disapprovingly, but he'd known he was blushing as well. "It's not _my _fault she's developed this infatuation with me. She'll grow out of it." 

Lina didn't seem to know when to quit. "I don't know, Zel, a cute princess like her? She's a pretty good catch."

He'd snorted. "Hardly. She may have the body of a grown woman, but she's still a child. I'll admit I've done a lot of things in the past that I'm not proud of…but monster though I may appear--" He stood up, glaring down at a shamefaced Lina, "I'm no pervert." 

When he awoke, the memory of a half-forgotten request was echoing in his head. _"Mister Zelgadis, after the battle is over, will you come back to Seyrune with me?" _

At the time, he'd felt himself softening a bit at her obvious devotion. It was a good feeling, to know that someone preferred _his_ sour company over that of his more gregarious companions. Impulsively, (or as close to being impulsive as he ever got) he'd answered, "Well, I'll think about it." 

But after the world had been saved (again), and they were back on the road, he'd looked at Amelia and seen only the same beautiful, spunky child he'd known over the past two years. Certainly she would be a woman to be reckoned with, in time. But he'd realized the best thing for her was to remove himself from the picture, and let her get on with her life. There were many other places he could search, anyway.

Saying goodbye to her had been awkward. Almost, he wished he'd simply turned and walked away, as he had the first time he'd parted ways with Lina and Gourry, after the battle with Shabranigdo. But she deserved more than that. Besides, he had promised to give her an answer. 

"Amelia," he said, trying to be tactful. It wasn't his way--his usual manner of speaking was cool, critical, sarcastic. But for her, he tried. "I've thought about your invitation." 

"You have?" she replied, hope shining in her dark-blue eyes. 

"I promised you I would. But I--I really can't come with you." He looked away, unable to meet her gaze. "I need to keep searching…" He was caught in one of those strange moments where he was actually grateful to Rezo for cursing him. 

Sounding dismayed, she protested, "But--we can search for a cure in Seyrune! It's the capital of white magic--there's got to be something or someone there who can help you!" 

"I _did_ look--that time when we were protecting your father." 

"But--we have dozens of temples and libraries and things. You can't have searched them all!" She sounded on the verge of tears. 

He looked at her. She was standing there, her fists clenched, lower lip trembling. He regretted causing her such distress, but he couldn't change how he felt about her. 

"I'm sorry," he began to say, but stopped as an idea occurred to him. Maybe she needed a distraction of some kind. "_I_ know--you can help me, Amelia. If you go back home and check out Seyrune, it will increase my chances of discovering a cure." 

She looked surprised. Then the old sparkle was back in her eyes. "Yes! I _will_ help you. I will search every possible area of my kingdom for your cure. I, Amelia wil Tesla Seyrune, swear it!" 

Zelgadis put a hand behind his head as a drop of water appeared by his temple. "Uh, yeah. You do that." 

__

Oh, well. I'm sure she's gotten over that by now, he thought as he broke camp. _After all, it's been nearly a year now. I really shouldn't be surprised that she honored her promise to help me, though--she _is _a princess, after all. _

**************

By the time he arrived at Seyrune's royal palace, it was late afternoon on the fourth day. Zelgadis was even more irritable than usual. His mind was entirely focused on going back out after his cure, so when a guard detained him, the chimera almost gave in to the temptation to knock the guy out with a sleep spell and start looking for Amelia himself. However, he had a feeling she wouldn't appreciate that, so he stood there, fuming, while the guard sent a runner to the Palace. 

About ten minutes later, an escort arrived to show him in. Zelgadis didn't like the man. Oh, he was cordial enough, in a snooty, upper-crust sort of way, but in his eyes Zelgadis could read the same emotions that everyone got when they looked at him. The fear, the disgust, the condemnation_. What right do you have to feel superior to me_? He scowled at the stout, balding man, whose veined red nose was a dead giveaway that the man was a heavy drinker. _Because you're human. And we both know it. _

Lord-Something-or-Other stopped and knocked on the door to the library, if Zelgadis remembered correctly. He remembered the last time he'd been inside the palace. 

Amelia had been with Lina, crying about the (false) death of her father, with Lina trying awkwardly but sincerely to comfort her. He'd been standing outside the door, trying to decide whether to go in, too. He remembered feeling odd twinges of sympathy and regret for her pain, and an even stronger one of protectiveness for the girl who had always been so cheerful. But even as he was deciding regretfully that he would probably be useless in a comforting capacity, an intruder had appeared and the chimera had reacted with swift ferocity to defend the young princess.

Now Amelia's voice called out, "Come in!" Zelgadis shouldered past the portly lord and opened the door to see the young princess kneeling on the floor among stacks of dusty tomes, looking at a book laid out open on the floor. He paused as she looked up, and their eyes met. She was wearing a blue dress, and her hair had a small blue ribbon tied in it. Even though it wasn't a particularly fancy dress, somehow she seemed more feminine than he remembered. 

He smiled a little. "It's good to see you again, Amelia," he said, realizing it was true. 

He was unprepared for how her eyes lit up at the sight of him. "Oh, Mister Zelgadis, you're here!" she exclaimed, jumping up and throwing herself toward him. Unfortunately, some of her old clumsiness chose that moment to return, and she slipped. "Oops!" 

Zelgadis caught her shoulders just before she would have crashed into him. Suddenly they were standing there holding each other, her arms around his waist, looking into each other's eyes. Amelia's were full of surprise. Then after a few moments, her cheeks turned pink and her eyes became softer, with a look of…

Zelgadis released her shoulders and stepped back a pace. "Are you all right?" he asked to cover up the fact that his own face was warm. He didn't remember her being so…lovely. 

"Oh, I'm fine." She laughed, a bit nervously. "Same old clumsy me, right?" 

He felt an odd desire to reassure her. "But still as pretty as ever." He stopped, startled. He hadn't meant to say that!

Amelia looked stunned for a moment. Then her face beamed with pleased surprise. "Why, thank you, Mister Zelgadis! I didn't think you noticed." 

Zelgadis felt himself blushing again, but she looked so happy he couldn't bring himself to take it back, so he did what he was good at, and was silent.

Amelia dismissed the escort. Then she carefully lifted the battered old leather-bound journal onto a table covered with papers and scrolls. The book was handwritten, in very old-style script, but thankfully still legible. "After we got back from fighting Valgaav, I looked through all our libraries, and posted a reward for anyone who had information about your cure. I sent word to all the libraries in the neighboring kingdoms, and to a bunch of other likely places, asking for their help in locating your cure. Some of them chose to do their own research; it took months to get replies from them."

Zelgadis realized that he was paying more attention to Amelia herself, than to what she was explaining to him. He realized that he'd missed the sound of her voice, her eager way of speaking, her earnest desire to help. She really did have a heart as big as her kingdom. He found himself surreptitiously smiling at her again, using muscles under his stone skin that hadn't been used in a long time.

He wondered what had possessed him to say that to her. Complimenting others was not his way. It had almost sounded as if he'd been flirting with her. Which he hadn't. _Of course not. _But it _was_ good to be with her again. He felt himself relaxing, almost unconsciously_, _in the ambiance of her easy acceptance of him. 

"A lot of people just sent me all their old manuscripts and things. I'm sorry it took so long, but I've finally managed to go through it all. This journal was one of the last I tried; it's very old and in bad condition, but still legible. I knew the moment I began reading it that it was what you've been looking for. The town it came from is one of the ones Rezo is supposed to have passed through."

"Rezo?" Suddenly he was listening intently.

"See here, Mister Zelgadis, where it says, 'And Thus began the Quest of the Chimerae'd Man: part Man, part Beast, part Mystikal creature.' And here's his map and everything." Amelia frowned thoughtfully. "The chronicles say he journeyed for nearly five years before discovering the place he was cured at. Or--the word they use means 'altered' or 'changed', I think--but afterward he doesn't say much at all, just that he's happy because he can be with his lovely betrothed, who waited for him all that time." 

The dark-haired princess looked dreamily off into the distance. "It's so romantic…although I sure hope _I_ don't have to wait five years to--" she broke off, a fetching pink blush appearing on her nose and cheeks as she gave Zelgadis a wide-eyed look and then looked away. 

Zelgadis felt himself blushing as well. He'd never been able to decide how he felt when Amelia said things like that. He didn't know what to do in such situations--he hadn't been raised with much affection and the whole idea of it flustered him. _Besides, I doubt she was talking about me._

"Um, anyway, it shouldn't take you nearly as long. You can use his map to go straight there, see?" She pointed to a section of the northeastern mountains. 

It looked to Zelgadis to be a round-trip journey of only a couple of months' travel. To think that his cure might be so close, after all this time! He picked up the volume and closed it gently. "Thank you, Amelia. I…thank you." He was surprised to feel an intense feeling of gratitude washing over him for all she had done for him. 

Amelia seemed to understand. She smiled at him, placing a gentle hand on his forearm. "You're welcome, Mister Zelgadis." 

He couldn't help but smile back, noticing she was a little taller than when he'd last seen her. The top of her head came nearly to his chin now. Then, before things could get too awkward, he turned toward the door. 

"Oh, wait; you're not going already?" Amelia asked hurriedly. 

"Of course I am," he replied, puzzled.

"But aren't you even going to have dinner with us? Daddy asked me to invite you." 

"Dinner?" Zelgadis glanced out the window at the sun, surprised to note that nearly an hour had gone by since he'd arrived. He also realized that the last four days had taken their toll, as his fierce hunger made itself known to him. Embarrassingly, his stomach growled, clearly audible in the quiet room. His face flushed.

The young princess tried to keep a straight face, but her lips were twitching, and after about ten seconds she gave in and started giggling, her hand in front of her mouth. Zelgadis wasn't sure whether to be insulted, but her joyful laughter was so different from the derisive braying of strangers that he finally relaxed, and even allowed himself a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

"Oh, Mister Zelgadis," Amelia sighed. "It's just _so_ good to see you again." There was no mistaking the fondness in her shining blue eyes. 

His thoughts were broken by the ringing of a dinner gong. Amelia blinked. "Oh, it's dinnertime already? I have to go change--I'll meet you in the dining hall, okay?" She dashed out without giving him a chance to answer.

He looked after her, his face serious as he tried to decide what to do. His first impulse was to disregard her request and be on his way, but something--perhaps the memory of the way her face had lit up when she'd first seen him--made him reconsider. _She's counting on me to be there. Well…I _do_ need to eat, after all. _

The dining hall was as he remembered it. There was no one else there yet. As he wondered which seat he ought to take, Prince Philionel strode in. "Ah, so Amelia convinced you to stay!" he said in his usual booming voice. 

"Hello, Sire," Zelgadis answered.

"Now, now, no need to be formal--we're old friends. Call me Phil." 

"As you wish." Zelgadis hoped Amelia would get here soon. Talking to the huge shaggy-haired man was a tiring duty. He had such a forceful personality that just being in the same room with him made you feel crowded. 

Prince Phil sat at the end of the long banquet table, waving the chimera into the seat on his left. He started to talk about old times, as a few servants began to bring in the food. Zelgadis tapped his fingers impatiently on his leg, wanting nothing more than to eat and leave. 

As the servants retreated, Prince Phil picked up his fork and knife. "Shouldn't we wait for Amelia?" Zelgadis asked, frowning. A crown prince surely ought to have better manners than that!

"Naw, she won't mind." Prince Phil dug into his food with nearly as much gusto as Lina and Gourry would have. Zelgadis sighed.

*************

Author's Notes: For those of you who haven't seen the end of Slayers Try, the scene at the very beginning of my story (with Zel sitting on the edge of a cliff) is taken from the last episode. Basically, the first half of my story is Zelgadis remembering the events that have happened to him over the last month or so. We catch up with him on the cliff somewhere around chapter 20. 


	2. Chapter Two: Blue Eyes on a Balcony

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friend Shell Presto, a wonderfully talented writer/artiste (check out her A/Z story One Third Human) for her invaluable editing commentary. Thanks also to Marie, for being my faithful sounding board and offering ingenious solutions to convoluted plot problems.

****

Chapter Two: Blue Eyes on a Balcony

__

He's just like I remembered him, Amelia thought as she hurried to put on her new gown. _Except I think he's grown even more handsome. _She recalled the expression on his face when he'd thanked her. She'd wanted to throw her arms around him, to show how glad she was that she'd made him happy. _He's still as serious as ever. And he _still_ gets embarrassed over the silliest things!_

She took one last look in the mirror. _Well, here goes nothing. I just hope he doesn't try to leave tonight. He _has_ to stay at least until morning!_

Meanwhile, Zelgadis was wondering whether to follow Phil's example, but then his sharp ears heard hurried footsteps. "Well, it's about ti-" he began in annoyance, but surprise stopped him. 

Amelia was wearing a long white sleeveless gown. A delicate golden tiara with a sparkling blue gem sat amidst her shining black hair. Several bracelets chimed sweetly as she moved. 

Zelgadis stared at the transformation. The last time he'd seen her so dressed up had been at the ceremony he and the others had crashed--literally--at the start of their last harrowing adventure. But the outfit she'd worn then had reminded him of a little girl's dress--all pink lace and flounces. This gown, however, showed off her curves in a more demure, adult fashion. She was, quite simply, beautiful. 

Almost instinctively, Zelgadis slowly rose to his feet. 

Amelia flushed a delicate pink, smiling. "So, how do I look?" 

__

Lovely, flashed through Zelgadis' mind, but his tongue seemed to have turned to the same stone as his skin. 

Prince Phil's comment saved him from having to answer. "Why, you look beautiful, as always." 

Amelia sat down across the table from Zelgadis. As he reseated himself, she gave him a warm smile. He hurriedly looked down and began eating his lukewarm food, barely tasting it. He could feel yet another blush on his nose and cheeks. 

A pair of servants brought Amelia some food. As she began to eat, her father asked, "So, daughter, have you acquainted Zelgadis with his traveling information?" 

"Yes, Daddy."

"Good!" Phil turned to Zelgadis. "In the last several months Amelia's done nothing but look for that cure of yours. She even got her former tutor to instruct her in the older writing styles, just so she could decipher some of that old nonsense." 

"It isn't nonsense, Daddy; just because it happened a long time ago doesn't mean it's not true." Amelia protested. 

She and her father got into a loud discussion over traditional ways versus non-traditional ones. The Crown Prince himself was a well-known tradition-breaker in political circles, but, it seemed, he was a little more conservative where his family was concerned. 

"Do you know, Zelgadis, that this daughter of mine hasn't even chosen a suitor yet?" 

Zelgadis was startled out of his silence, practically spitting his drink out all over the table. "A--a _what_?" 

"Oh, it's a tradition in Seyrune that all royal children have to be married by their seventeenth birthday." Amelia said scornfully. "Supposedly it sets the kingdom's mind at ease to know that the next ruling couple is prepared to take over in case something happens to the current ruler." 

"Yeah, like _that_ would ever happen! AH-HA-HA!" Prince Phil guffawed, apparently to reassure his daughter. 

Zelgadis looked from father to daughter. _Little Amelia--betrothed? Married?_ "But you still have a lot of time yet, don't you?" he asked her. 

She gave him a rueful look. "Not really. My seventeenth birthday is in two months." 

__

Two months? "Oh. I hadn't realized--you were so old already." he replied gracelessly. For some reason the news disturbed him, even though he knew royalty often married early. 

"You're telling me." Phil interrupted his thoughts. "Why, I remember when she was _this _high. I used to take her for piggyback rides all around the palace. And one time--"

"Daddy!" 

"Huh? Oh, sorry, my dear. I guess you don't want your father embarrassing you in front of your friend." Prince Phil laughed. "At least now you can return to the duties you've been neglecting for so long." 

"But Daddy!" Amelia protested. "I want to go with Mister Zelgadis! What if he needs me?"

"Now, Amelia, he's proven he can take care of himself. And you know perfectly well that the only reason you've been allowed to set aside your royal obligations is because of all we owe our good friend here, but there _are_ other people who need you, too." 

Zelgadis watched Amelia struggle with herself, wanting to protest more, but her sense of duty was too strong. She subsided into silence, pouting. 

They finished the meal quickly, without a lot more talk, for which Zelgadis was grateful. Amelia invited him to go to the Upper Balcony, a vantage point for looking over the city. He accepted before he remembered that he wanted to be on his way. _Well…I can spare a few more minutes. _

He was surprised to see that it was sunset already. The evening was fairly warm, with a gentle breeze that ruffled his cape, Amelia's raven hair, and her long white skirt. The two of them stood looking out over the city, where Zelgadis could see the remaining devastation caused by Lina's amplified Dragon Slave. 

Amelia noticed where he was looking. "That's one of the reasons Daddy won't let me go with you. He says it's good experience for me."

Zelgadis gave her a quizzical look.

"You see, they're still rebuilding it, and there are enough disputes over property lines and things like that to give me some practice in diplomacy. Even if I make a mistake, or upset some people, no one's likely to declare war over it."

"That makes sense." The big man did know how to rule, despite appearances. "Was the area badly hit?"

"Yes. Well, it could have been a lot worse. Most of the population in that area were evacuated before Miss Lina blasted it. After all, there _was_ a huge chunk of land just floating over them in midair for at least an hour before it fell." 

"That's good. I'll bet Lina was relieved to hear she didn't kill all those people."

"Oh, yes. She and Mister Gourry stop by from time to time. But they never stay long--Miss Lina doesn't exactly feel welcome." 

"I can't say I blame her." 

After a moment, Amelia looked up at him with a worried expression and said, "But you know _you're_ always welcome here, right, Mister Zelgadis?" 

He couldn't help smiling a little at her earnest anxiety. "Thank you, Amelia." 

She smiled back. 

They were still as they looked out over the city. Zelgadis watched as the warm orange sunbeams gave the city a golden glow. He closed his eyes, feeling his stone skin absorb the heat on one side of his face. Everything was so peaceful, so tranquil, with the breeze whispering around them. 

"When I was little, I used to get into all kinds of mischief here." Amelia said softly. He opened his eyes to see her leaning on the stone ledge surrounding the balcony. Her chin was propped up in the palm of her hand, as she gazed dreamily out over her city. 

"I had a bunch of friends who played games like 'Virtue--The Girl of Justice' with me. Of course, I always got to be Virtue." she chuckled. "I had a wonderful childhood, really, even though now I realize I was sort of spoiled. Daddy let me do anything I wanted after Mama died, and my older sister ran away. Of course, all I wanted by then was to be close to him. He was all I had left." 

"So you took up fighting for justice as a way to be close to your father?" 

She turned away from the ledge to face him. "I guess so. I really do believe in absolute justice, but…it's not always easy to tell who the bad guys are. And, well, looking back…I'm embarrassed at some of the things I've done in the name of justice." 

Zelgadis blinked. This wasn't the Amelia he remembered. Maybe she _was_ growing up. "I understand. We all do things we regret." A sad look crossed his face momentarily as he recalled some of his own past deeds. 

"Thanks." She smiled up at him gratefully. 

They stood together in companionable silence. Zelgadis found himself oddly content to just be there, sharing this peaceful moment with someone he trusted. Gone was the urgency that had driven him over the last four days. He noticed a sweet fragrance on the breeze; Amelia's perfume, or her shampoo, or something.

He watched her for a moment out of the corner of his eyes. She was standing with her hands on the stone ledge, her face upturned, her eyes closed, as the wind made her dark hair dance around her face. He couldn't help smiling a little at the enchanting picture she made. 

"You're spending the night, aren't you?" Amelia asked him.

He almost dropped to the ground in shock and embarrassment. _"What?_" 

"So you can start out fresh in the morning." She didn't seem to notice his embarrassed blush as he tried to gather together the shreds of his composure. 

Oh. Then she didn't mean…"Well, actually, I'd planned on starting out now." 

"Oh, nonsense. Who begins a long journey at sunset?" The princess dismissed his answer with a bit of her old haughtiness. 

"_I_ do," he replied in mild annoyance. "I can see perfectly well in the dark with the help of a light spell. And it's not like there's going to be anything around here to attack me this close to the white magic capital." 

"Oh, but--you're not prepared; you don't have any supplies," she protested, sounding dismayed. 

"You know I don't have to eat that often. As long as I have my canteen I'll be fine." Why was she trying to keep him here? After a long pause, he asked quietly, "Amelia, is something wrong?"

She jumped nervously. "Oh--no, not really. It's just that…" she trailed off. 

__

Hmph. She's probably upset because she can't come with me, Zelgadis surmised. He hated emotional goodbyes, and it looked like that was what this was turning into. "Well, I'll see you in a few months then, Amelia. Thanks for everything," he said casually, trying to escape before she started bawling or something. 

Amelia caught his cape as he walked away. "Zelgadis--please don't go," she pleaded.

He obeyed, more because of her intimate usage of his name than because of the request itself. "What did you call me?" He wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. 

"Um..." She released his cape, as if only now realizing how she'd addressed him. She moved her closed hand up in front of her chin, an appealing gesture she often used without thinking when she was distraught. Her small hand cast a stream of black shadow across her sunlit skin. 

As he stared at her the wind picked up again, swirling her raven hair around her face. He was captured by the look in her liquid eyes, hesitant, imploring…he wanted to look away, but found he could not. 

"Mister Zelgadis, please…just wait until morning. Please?" 

There was a tone in her voice he'd never heard before. He wavered, his resolve weakening. For some reason this was very important to her. The open, pleading look on her face, always so expressive, so sensitive…

He let out his breath in an exasperated huff. "Oh, all right," he growled, disgruntled. That was the problem with letting other people get close to him; he could not simply ignore their wishes as he could a stranger's. Giving her a sour look, he asked, "So what's this all about?" 

She smiled. "You'll find out in the morning." 

As he continued to frown at her, she giggled, "Now don't be like that, Mister Zelgadis. I was hoping you might care to accompany me to the concert hall tonight. You see, we have the most wonderful minstrel visiting us, and I know how much you like music." She was back to her old bubbly self.

__

How does she know I like music? The idea was very tempting, but caution won out. "I'm sorry, but I don't think it would be a good idea." 

"But why?" Amelia looked perplexed.

The chimera sighed as his almost-forgotten burden settled on his shoulders again. "Look, Amelia, _you _may be used to the way I look, but if I appear in public I'm likely to cause a riot. People are more paranoid about monsters than they used to be, after everything that's happened over the last few years." 

He thought she might protest, but instead her expression became subdued as she accepted the truth of his statement. Except for--"You're not a monster," she said softly.

And suddenly he felt lighter again. Zelgadis smiled a little. "Maybe not to you." 

"No--never to me." she said almost fervently. 

Surprised, Zelgadis met her eyes. She looked back with a strange, serious look on her face. The playful breeze tugged at his cape, and Amelia's white gown. The lightweight cloth fluttered over her body, reminding him of her new maturity. Looking at her solemn face, a question that had been lurking in the back of his mind popped out before he realized he was going to speak: "So, have you met anyone special, yet?" 

__

What am I saying?

For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of delight in her eyes, but then her expression became one of wry tolerance. "That's practically the only thing people ask me these days."

"Oh--sorry."

"That's all right." Amelia smiled ruefully. "I _have_ met a few okay guys, but no one really special." 

Unconsciously, the slender chimera relaxed, not noticing his relief as Amelia continued. "Mister Zelgadis," she said thoughtfully, "Suppose you wore your cowl and we stood in the back of the concert hall. Then people wouldn't notice you." 

He saw the flaw in that right away. "People would notice _you._"

"Not if I wore a hood of some kind, too." Amelia's face took on an impish smile that reminded Zelgadis of Lina. "Come on, Mister Zelgadis, it'll be fun! Besides, I've always wanted to sneak around Seyrune in disguise!"

Suddenly seizing his hard hand in both of hers, she began towing him after her. "Amelia!" he protested, shocked at her impetuousness. He could have refused to move, of course, but for some reason he let her lead him by the hand through several corridors of the palace to a cloakroom.

Releasing his hand, the dark-haired girl reached up to remove a rust-colored, hooded cloak from its peg. It completely covered her from head to foot. "There. This cloth is high-quality enough for a formal occasion, but not decorated enough to draw attention." She smiled winningly at him. Zelgadis sighed, and wondered if this was going to lead to disaster.

****************

****

Author's Note: You're probably thinking 'Oh, no, not another Amelia-is-being-forced-to-marry plot!' Well, two things make this choice a logical plot point. One: Considering all the upheaval in the Slayers' world, it's definitely prudent to require royals to provide heirs at a young age, just in case. I chose age 17 mostly because it fit into the time frame I wanted--long enough for Zel and Amelia to be apart for a good chunk of time, and short enough that Amelia would not have matured into someone too grown-up to be interesting. 

Two: You get the idea from the series that if nothing happened to create a spark, as it were, Zel and Amelia (not to mention Gourry and Lina) would _never_ admit their feelings for each other. It's always easier (and emotionally safer) to say nothing, after all. 

I hope Zel and Amelia don't seem too out of character. There's more than whims behind Amelia's behavior, though you won't learn all of it 'till later. Notice how pleased she was when Zel asked her about prospective husbands, though! Zel…well, his main problem is that he's determined to see her as the child she once was. Every time he notices her new maturity it comes as a fresh shock--his eyes are being opened whether he wants them to or not. That's my major theme for this fic, actually. 


	3. Chapter Three: Concert Musings

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friend Shell Presto, a wonderfully talented writer/artiste (check out her A/Z story One Third Human) for her invaluable editing commentary. Thanks also to Marie, for being my faithful sounding board and offering ingenious solutions to convoluted plot problems.

****

Note: As with most Earthlike parallel worlds, there are a few differences. In this case, the musical instrument the minstrel plays is called a guiolin. Pronounced 'gee-oh-lin'-- 'g' as in 'great'.

****

Chapter Three: Concert Musings

The trip to the concert hall was surprisingly uneventful, apart from Amelia's tendency to step on the front hem of her cloak, nearly tripping several times. Amelia kept her head down and did not chatter as he expected her to, although he could tell by the way she walked that she was excited, and was restraining herself from skipping along.

Amelia's thoughts were jumbled with excitement. _I can't believe I'm out for an evening with Mister Zelgadis! Oops--almost tripped again. I wish I'd chosen a shorter cloak--the last thing I want to do is fall on my face in front of him and make a fool out of myself. _

Her mind wandered back to the conversation they'd had on the balcony. She'd been on the verge of telling Zelgadis about the time she'd blown up one of the city's towers to determine whether or not Lina was a 'bad guy'. _I hope no one ever mentions that to him. _She'd never seen her father so angry. Of course, if it hadn't been for that little… miscalculation… she never would have had all those adventures with Miss Lina…and she never would have met Mister Zelgadis. 

The concert hall was a large, beautiful building with walls of polished white marble, with several gracefully carved pillars flanking the doorway. The echoes from within demonstrated its perfect acoustics. Zelgadis found an inconspicuous corner for them both, with a fairly clear view of the center stage.

__

How did I let Amelia talk me into this? Nervously, he looked around. There were about a hundred people milling about, dressed in various levels of wealth, but none of them seemed to find anything out of the ordinary about him or Amelia. 

He became aware that she was leaning against him, probably to let a rather large woman pass in front of her. He stepped back to give her more room. Neither of them said anything, simply watching the crowd. Within a few minutes, the lighted oil lamps were dimmed. Zelgadis relaxed. The semi-darkness made him feel safer. 

An ordinary-looking young man with a well-polished guiolin stepped into the spotlight. He introduced himself, and announced the name of the first song. It was a light, cheerful one, designed to put the crowd in a good mood. As the first notes were played, Zelgadis realized Amelia had been correct--young as he was, the man was a skilled performer. The chimera didn't notice the nostalgic smile that curved his lips as he allowed himself to be carried away by the music. 

Amelia smiled, too. She could tell Zelgadis was enjoying himself, in spite of his dire predictions. He didn't seem to realize he was nodding his head in time to the tune, as a lot of the other people were. She was very glad she had made him come here tonight. 

__

Poor Mister Zelgadis. He always seemed so serious, if not downright despondent--and he really seemed to believe he looked monstrous. Amelia wondered if it was because he saw himself with his own features altered, whereas she'd never known him to have any other appearance than his current one. He certainly wasn't ugly to her. He was very unusual-looking, sometimes intimidating, but attractive. Maybe he was right--if his human face had been even more handsome than the one he had now, he might well consider himself deformed.

The young girl looked down, a little embarrassed. It wasn't just his appearance she admired--a slender, slightly elfin look that belied his great strength--he had many other qualities that she was enamored of. 

The stone man was an odd mixture of strength and gentleness, of graceful elegance and blushing awkwardness, of sharp intelligence and ready wit, or stammering indignation, depending on the situation. The epitome of cool, level-headedness, although on occasion he could display a wild recklessness equal to anything Lina Inverse was capable of. 

In battle, he radiated controlled power; a magnificent sight. He'd saved her life more than once. And yet, he had a soft side. Amelia still had dreams of the look in his eyes after that game of Brass Rackets she'd played a couple of years ago. The trophy cup was reputed to have a clue to the Claire Bible inscribed on it. Amelia's team had won (by default, courtesy of Lina) and she'd never forgotten the brief look of grateful affection on her friend's face when she'd offered to let him have the first view of the cup--or his quiet "Thank you."

He could be tactless and cold, true, but Amelia understood that for the most part, he didn't mean to hurt people's feelings. It was just his way. 

If there was anything Amelia regretted about his stone body, it was that it made any sort of intimate contact with him awkward, if not downright uncomfortable. Even a simple hug was problematical, not so much due to the hardness of his stone skin, but to his self-consciousness about his body, and dislike of physical contact. She'd leaned against him earlier because she wanted to, and to see if he would let her. No luck. 

She sighed, almost wishing her heart had not chosen someone so elusive. Somewhere along the way she'd come to care for this lonely stone gentleman, whose innate pride and dignity would not let him ask for help. And he was so adorable when he blushed! 

The princess glanced up at him. All she could see of him in the dimness were his large, bright, slanting eyes, and a lot of the lovely silver-blue wire of his hair where it appeared around the edges of his mask. What luck that the best minstrel in the surrounding kingdoms happened to be visiting Seyrune! Amelia knew Zelgadis liked music, thanks to Lina's 'ghost ship' story.

She wondered if she'd ever learn anything more about his mysterious past. A long time ago, she and Lina had once spent an entire afternoon speculating about it, among other fascinating things. 

FLASHBACK

Lina: "It's _my_ guess that as a descendant of Rezo he's from a pretty high-class family. Maybe even equivalent to a lord, depending on which kingdom he's from." 

Amelia: "Why do you think that?"

Lina: For one thing, he's got _way_ better manners than your average bumpkin like dumbell over there." She jerks her thumb at Gourry, who is snoring obliviously on the grass beside them.

Amelia (temporarily sidetracked): "Miss Lina, do you mind if I ask a personal question?"

(It was always best not to trigger her friend's notorious temper.)

Lina: Well, that depends. How much you got on you?" 

Amelia blinks. 

Lina (laughing): "Go ahead--you can owe me." 

Amelia (not at all sure Lina is joking): "Well, I was just wondering if you've told Mister Gourry you love him yet."

Lina (drops over on her side, then springs back to her sitting position): _"What?"_

Amelia (shrinking back, index and pinkie fingers extended): "I'm sorry! I just thought by now the two of you would be a couple! Mrs. Martina said--"

Lina (her head appears to grow ten times its normal size): You talked to _Martina_ about my love life?"

Amelia (trying to talk her way out of it): "Well, I had to go on another diplomatic mission to New Xoana, and you know what a gossip Mrs. Martina is!" 

Lina (clenching and unclenching her fists): "Just what _exactly_ did Martina say?"

Amelia: "Only that she saw you hold back after Hellmaster Fibrizzo kil-, um, put the rest of us out of action…until Mister Gourry's life was threatened."

Lina's expression of rage fades, to the princess' relief, to be replaced by a serious look. She gives Gourry a long glance. 

Amelia (encouraged): "And I saw the two of you when you reappeared--you sure _looked_ like something had been going on between you."

Lina (stiffening up): "Well, nothing did!…At least I don't think so. I wish I could remember…"

Amelia: "So, you're saying you don't have any feelings for Mister Gourry at all?"

Lina: "No! Yes! I don't know!"

For once, Lina looks as confused as Amelia often feels--but this time it is she who understands the situation. 

Amelia (quietly): What's so bad about loving Mister Gourry? I mean, he's brave and strong and nice…and not at all bad-looking…"

Lina (almost shouting): "Because he's stupid! A moron! A mental midget! How could I _ever_ love someone like that?" 

Lina's tirade triggers Amelia's sense of justice. 

Amelia (defending Gourry sternly): "He's very sweet-tempered. And he certainly adores _you_, the way he puts up with how you treat him sometimes." 

This floors Lina. She glances at Gourry, who apparently has snored his way through the whole conversation.

Amelia feels a flicker of jealousy_. At least the two of them are _together. 

Amelia (sadly): "Besides…love conquers all, right?"

Lina (softly, giving her a quick, perceptive glance): "Haven't heard from Zelgadis, huh?"

Amelia (in a small voice): "No…"

Lina (obviously trying to shift the conversation away from the whole Gourry issue): "Well, cheer up! Maybe he's found his cure, and he's on his way back right now."

Amelia: "No, he hasn't. The last I heard, one of the royal couriers saw him a few days ago in Porthos." 

Lina: "So you _have_ been keeping tabs on him!"

Amelia (blushing a little): "Only in case I--someone needs to contact him. Like if his cure is found. He's never tried to contact any of _us, _after all…and…I _would_ like to know if--_when_--he's finally cured." 

Lina (sympathetically): "Me, too, Amelia."

Amelia (wanting to get away from that distressing topic): "So, what makes you think Mister Zelgadis is a lord?"

Lina (apparently deciding to go along with Amelia's subject change): "Well, for one thing, did you ever notice how he blushes and won't look at us if he thinks we're dressed--well--immodestly?" 

Amelia nods, a smile beginning to show.

Lina: "And remember that time we had to dress up and sing in front of Martina and all those mazoku? I didn't think about it at the time, but later it hit me--where did Zel learn to read sheet music? And that ghost ship…"

Lina gives Amelia the short version of the 'ghost ship' story, including the fact that Zelgadis apparently knew how to play a guiolin, although the one he'd brought from the ghost ship turned to rotten, bug-infested wood soon after the ship sank.

Amelia: "I didn't know he liked music. Actually, I got the impression that he hated singing in front of people, when we had to do that dance."

Lina (shrugs): "Well, some people just aren't performers."

Amelia (fascinated): "What else have you noticed about him?"

Lina: "He did a pretty nice job carving that mural on the wall of the dragons' temple. With just a hammer and chisel, no less." 

Amelia (remembering): "And I wonder how he learned how to pick locks without using magic. He never did get around to telling me."

Lina (double-takes): "He what?"

Amelia shrugs.

Lina (pauses, then continues): "It's a pretty safe bet that he's used to _giving _orders, not taking them. He had two guys working for him when we first met…they got killed by Shabranigdo. I think they were probably his family's old 'retainers'. And…they seemed to have been his only real friends. Besides us, now." 

Amelia (realizing an important detail that had hurt and puzzled her in the past): "That would explain why he doesn't seem to want to let anybody get close to him, in case something happens to them, too." 

Lina: "It also explains why he goes off on his own a lot--he's not used to being part of a group. If he was an only child, you can bet he was spoiled, and used to getting his own way."

FLASHBACK ENDS 

__

I should have known Miss Lina never makes jokes about money. _I sill can't believe she charged me three hundred gold…oh, well. It was worth it._ The dark-haired princess turned to look at the enthralled chimera beside her, and smiled. 

*****************

****

Author's Notes: One of the things that I think adds a lot of flavor to any piece of writing is the unique bits, like a certain food or device that is native to that particular world. Sometimes it can be something identical to our own world, but be called by a very different name. Thus 'guiolin' --sort of a mix between 'guitar' and 'violin'. I know they didn't show Zel's guiolin rotting away at the end of the ghost ship episode, but come on, it was HOW old? 

Oh, yeah, I was originally going to have this entire story told from Zelgadis' viewpoint, but there are some things that other characters think that I felt the readers needed to know. Plus there are several 'reflective' chapters, some of which are better told by people other than Zelgadis. 

My ideas on Zel's past were influenced somewhat by the American voice actor, Crispin Freeman, (whom I later heard had done a lot of Shakespearean acting). I know the Japanese Zel is supposed to use less-polished language, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have started out well-to-do and decided to talk rough to seem tough. 


	4. Chapter Four: Music of the Heart

**Only Stone on the Outside**

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friend Shell Presto, a wonderfully talented writer/artiste (check out her A/Z story One Third Human) for her invaluable editing commentary. Thanks also to Marie, for being my faithful sounding board and offering ingenious solutions to convoluted plot problems.

**Chapter Four: Music of the Heart**

Zelgadis was enjoying himself immensely. It had been so long since he'd heard any proper music. He had discovered long ago that his pointed ears, with their more-sensitive hearing, let him focus on subtle nuances if he so chose.

The minstrel played several more bouncy, toe-tapping pieces, his fingers clever on the strings. The atmosphere in the room was one of almost visible gaiety, as the crowd nodded and swayed and clapped along with him.

Next came a couple of long, magnificent ballads, of the sort designed to give heart to weary soldiers. _We could have used him during some of the bad times. _Zelgadis' mind flashed on several of the bleakest moments of the last few years, but the music pulled him away from the memories, as he lost himself instead in the intricacies of the chording. His fingers itched to take up a similar instrument.

The minutes flew by on wings. Zelgadis was surprised when a short intermission was announced. _We can't have been here _that_ long. _But it seemed they had. He and Amelia backed up to the wall to allow people to walk in front of them as the room became brighter. He noticed that the crowd was much thicker than when they'd arrived. Automatically, he planned several escape routes, just in case. 

Just before the second half of the evening began, a woman holding a sleeping baby of about a year old took up a position beside him. He frowned, hoping it wouldn't wake up and start fussing during the music. 

The minstrel started off with a clever question-and-answer song, which had the audience laughing hysterically at times as they tried to keep up with their half of it. Even Amelia joined in. He almost asked her to stop, but she seemed to be having such a good time that he just sighed, realized that choosing to remain silent probably attracted more attention. He could have joined in, he supposed, but by now the instinct to remain inconspicuous was too strong. Besides, it wasn't…dignified to act so silly in public. 

Next, there was a jaunty homage tune, about what a wonderful kingdom Seyrune was to live in, describing the royal family (Zelgadis twitched as Amelia's name was mentioned), and several of the more well-known eccentrics of the city, poking gentle fun at them. Zelgadis noticed that for every sassy remark, the musician tactfully (or prudently) added one of praise. 

Then the tenor of the music shifted, as the minstrel began to sing a melting love song. His fingers rippled over the strings like water. The young man caroled in a warm, rich baritone much like Zelgadis' own, a perfect accompaniment to his song. 

After a few moments, Zelgadis caught the expression on Amelia's face. Like most of the women in the audience, she was dewy-eyed, looking like she was half in love with the young musician. Zelgadis was surprised to feel a twinge of regret, as he remembered how she'd looked at him that way a few times in the past. He wondered who she was thinking about now.

__

I wonder if Mister Zelgadis would ever sing like that for me? Amelia sighed dreamily, imagining a romantic scene with Zelgadis serenading her, wearing a lovely pale-blue tuxedo. Without realizing it, she leaned sideways against him again. 

The chimera looked down at her. Amelia wasn't looking up at him, or watching the man on the stage, either. Suddenly discontent, he thought, _She must be thinking about some guy she likes. _He would have edged away, except for the woman with the baby on his other side. 

The minstrel began another love song. A pretty tune, to be sure, but Zelgadis was distracted by the feel of the girl leaning against him. He could have just asked Amelia to move, but she looked so content that he simply sighed, and resigned himself to patience. 

He refocused his attention on the music. Some of the songs had familiar rhythms; he wondered who had composed them. They sounded similar to songs he'd played in his youth--back when he'd once considered the life of a minstrel--something even a short, skinny youth (as he had been) could do well. Of course, that was before…

He was brought out of his reverie when Amelia took hold of his arm. She hooked her nearer arm through his, with that hand up near his shoulder. Her other hand was on his forearm. He was too startled to say anything for several moments, looking down at her with wide eyes. She'd put her hooded head against his shoulder, so he couldn't see her face. _What is she doing? _

Amelia had gotten so caught up in the beautiful melody that she forgot herself. Instinctively, she'd embraced him, wanting to be close to him. She had touched him often enough in the past not to be startled by the way he felt --an odd sensation, flexible stone, covered in heavy cotton. Unusual, and uniquely Zelgadis. She had to be careful not to bruise herself on him, that was all. She found herself wondering what his stone skin felt like--he'd always kept himself well-covered--whether out of modesty or shame, she wasn't sure.

After several moments, Zelgadis whispered, "Amelia--what are you doing?" He moved his arm a little. 

The young princess snapped out of her dreamy state. "Oh--sorry." She released him, blushing sheepishly. Hoping she hadn't embarrassed him, she tried to look up into his face, but all she could make out was a faint shimmer where his eyes were. Her shoulders drooped, and she faced the stage again. 

Zelgadis was a little annoyed. _Hanging on my arm in public like that, _he thought in disapproval. Still…he softened as she looked up at him, an earnest, apologetic expression on her face. He smiled to himself as she turned back to watch the musician. So she hadn't lost all of her puppyish charm, and was still apt to do things without thinking. Somehow her little demonstration of affection put him back in a good mood.

__

I can't believe I did that. I probably embarrassed him horribly. I wonder if he'll ever forgive me? Amelia was so upset she barely heard the next song. 

Finally, the evening drew to a close. The minstrel began a slower tune, a sort of lullaby, putting everyone in a peaceful mood. Both Amelia and Zelgadis were caught up in the soothing ambiance. With a final chord, the minstrel stood up from his stool, and bowed toward the audience. He received a lengthy ovation. Amelia clapped enthusiastically, and even Zelgadis unbent enough to applaud, for a job well done. 

The lamps slowly brightened. _A wonderful evening,_ Amelia thought. She began to walk toward the entrance with the rest of the crowd, assuming Zelgadis was right behind her. 

Suddenly the infant next to Zelgadis, who had been awakened by all the noise, made a grab for the chimera's facemask. Instinctively, he pulled back, his action having two effects, both bad: one, that of flipping his hood off his head, leaving him fully exposed to sight, and two, that of cracking his head against the marble wall behind him, leaving him dazed for several moments. 

In the next instant, a piercing scream from the young mother cut through the sleepy chatter of the crowd. Those nearest the woman also let out yells of alarm as they spotted an unmasked Zelgadis. 

Amelia wheeled around. She spotted what had happened and began to run back to stand at his side. Unfortunately, she stepped on the hem of her cloak, and tripped, turning her ankle painfully under her. She let out a cry of pain as she landed with a thud.

"Amelia?" Zelgadis reacted to that familiar voice, though the room was fuzzy around the edges. "Where are you?" In his haze, his first thought was that someone had attacked her. 

He couldn't see her. He growled, "Get out of my way!" at the nearest gawkers, and cast "Flare Arrow!" straight up to enforce his order. It flashed overhead, not doing any physical damage but having the sound and the flash of an explosive-spell. Screams of terror rang through the concert hall as people began scattering in all directions, knocking each other over, trying to escape from the fearsome man-demon that had suddenly appeared in their midst. 

A couple of terrified men tried to attack him unarmed, but he simply threw them off and strode over to where he'd caught a glimpse of rust-red color. Amelia was trying to get to her feet, but had somehow become entangled in the borrowed cloak. Her hood had fallen back.

Suddenly Zelgadis was crouching beside her. As his head cleared, he understood what had happened. He also realized there was nothing to be done now but escape before some fool tried to be a hero and someone got hurt. "Can you walk?" 

"I-I don't know. I think I sprained my ankle, but--" 

With an exasperated sigh, he slid his arms under her and picked her up. She looked up at him with wide eyes, speechless. Zelgadis began looking around, trying to remember his escape plans. 

"Hey, look! The demon is kidnapping the princess!" some idiot exclaimed from the crowd. 

"The princess?"

"Where?"

"Oh, no! He's right!" 

Several people began to encircle them. Zelgadis fumed_. Damn! The next thing you know, a real swordsman or wizard is going to show up and make me fight him. And I'd rather not destroy this concert hall if I can help it. _

He spotted an opening in the crowd in the entry hall and shouted, "Rei Wing!" With Amelia in his arms he lifted off and flew through the doorway. Angry shouts followed them as he flew up higher into the night, and headed toward the palace. 

Amelia was caught up in a memory. About two years ago, she'd gotten hit on the head and he'd carried her in his arms, the same way he was holding her now. Except that then he'd been running, not levitating. And it had been a genuine life-or-death situation. 

She felt again the somewhat uncomfortable pressure of hard stone pressing against her back, and under her knees, but their clothing helped cushion the contact. She also felt the same warm feelings she hadn't had since she was a small child being carried by her father: those of safety, and security. She knew Zelgadis wouldn't let anything happen to her.

The young princess had had something of a crush on him after the first time he'd carried her, but he had rebuffed her early overtures with gruff embarrassment, making it clear that he did not share her feelings. After the final battle with the Hellmaster, she had returned home, and had nearly forgotten her infatuation with him, as most young girls will, becoming more involved in her duties and her social crowd. She had even been dismayed when her old traveling companions disrupted a ceremony in which she was to have played a key role, but was soon immersed in yet another frightening, exhilarating adventure to save the world. 

Lina and Gourry were the same unlikely pair she remembered. As for Zelgadis…well, the more she saw of him, the more she admired. _I told myself he was just a good friend…he never showed any signs that he saw me as anything more. And I was more interested in Miss Lina's relationship with Mister Gourry at the time. It's so obvious that the two of them are meant to be together, forever! _

I don't regret asking Mister Zelgadis to come back with me. Even though he eventually said no, for a little while I was sure he liked me. I just hope I'm right… 

After it was all over, everyone had gone their separate ways, but Amelia had remained interested in Zelgadis' well-being_. _It hadn't been any trouble, really, to ask all the royal couriers to keep tabs on his whereabouts (and his appearance). She'd sort of hoped he would come to see her after he'd found his cure. She'd looked, every now and then, in the palace library, or one of the others in the city, but had gotten discouraged after a while.

But then a few months ago, she'd overheard two maids talking. "So, who do you think our princess fancies?" 

"None of 'em, from what I've 'eard." 

"Ah, our little Amelia. _Just_ like her father. She always has to do things her own way." 

"Well, she'd better choose soon, or it's 'er father'll be doin' the choosin'."

Somehow the conversation had stuck in Amelia's head. She'd been hearing about the whole 'suitor' business for so long now that she pretty much ignored the whole topic. Even though over the last year several of her friends had gotten betrothed, it hadn't seemed to have anything to do with her. 

Now, she wondered_. Would Daddy really choose a suitor for me? That would be unjust! _She hadn't been able to get out of her lessons with that excuse, though, and her father was really adamant about following this tradition. Even though she disliked the whole situation, Amelia understood why her father wanted her to do this. It wasn't only so that she'd have someone to 'take care of her' if anything should happen to him, or because he wanted grandchildren--'lots of 'em!' 

It was because he knew all too well the heartache of losing a spouse at an early age. Her Mama hadn't even been thirty when she'd passed away. Amelia had often heard her father declare how grateful he'd been to marry her mother so early--he'd had several more precious years to know and love her. 

Yes, the princess understood her father's reasoning…but she wasn't in love with any of the 'suitable' (human) men she was constantly being introduced to. Her heart had already been captured by a certain elusive, frustratingly unsociable, intelligent, brave, honorable, handsome chimera.

Amelia became aware that Zelgadis was carrying her without a word. _He must be really mad at me. I wish he'd just yell at me and get it over with. _His face was somewhat lit up from the city's lights, but he was staring straight ahead with an impassive expression that gave her no clue to his thoughts. 

After a few moments, she couldn't stand it any more. She gathered her courage and piped up nervously, "Mister Zelgadis? I-I'm sorry. I should have listened to you."

The chimera had been concentrating on the effort of flying a double load. At her words, he looked down at her with a frown. He _was_ annoyed with her, but she looked up at him with such a miserable expression that he only sighed and said, "It's not your fault, Amelia." 

__

He's just being nice. She looked away. "Yes, it is." 

He could not contradict her, because to be honest, none of this _would_ have happened if she hadn't insisted on going to the concert. 

Amelia was uncharacteristically silent as they flew. This bothered Zelgadis more than he wanted to admit. _Maybe I should say something to cheer her up. After all, she meant well. _"Look, Amelia…I don't blame you, really. It was a kind thought. And it was partly my fault--" he added to be fair, "I should have been paying more attention." 

She didn't respond for a long moment. "I just--I just wanted to do something nice for you," she murmured, heaving a huge sigh of unhappiness.

Zelgadis found himself unexpectedly touched. He hesitated, then said, "Do you know how long it's been since I've heard music like that?" 

She looked up at him questioningly.

"Years." After a few seconds, he added, "I'd almost forgotten the pleasure of listening to fine music. I didn't even realize how much I'd missed it until tonight." 

"Then you aren't mad at me?" Hope shone in her eyes as she looked at him. 

"I--no." He realized the last of his irritation had vanished. After all, nothing had been damaged, no one had been seriously hurt. 

__

He forgives me!

Amelia gave him a smile so full of joy that he almost lost control of their flight. One of the almost-forgotten benefits of letting people get close to him was the ability to make another human being smile like that. He didn't even notice that he'd included himself in the 'human' category.

Slowly, she relaxed against him. He'd been flying upright so as to hold her securely against his chest, with parts of their clothing fluttering out behind them, but until then she'd been holding herself stiffly, her muscles tense. He smiled a little at the feeling of protectiveness that she roused in him. Her obvious trust and affection for him was flattering, to say the least, not to mention…endearing. 

Zelgadis gave his head a shake to clear it of such thoughts. He remembered the reason he was carrying her in the first place. "How's your ankle?"

"Oh, right." She wiggled it under the long cloak, and winced. "It hurts." 

"Can you cast a healing spell on it while I carry--"

"I'll cast a healing spell on it if you'll--"

They spoke simultaneously, both breaking off to look at each other. Amelia burst into laughter, and even Zelgadis smiled. He couldn't help but notice the delightful feeling of holding a laughing girl in his arms, although he suppressed that thought immediately. 

Still chuckling, Amelia reached out and held her hand out over her ankle, a white glow surrounding it. 

Zelgadis was getting tired, but the palace had appeared in front of them, and soon they were landing on the same balcony that they had started from. Carefully, he set her down on her feet. "Are you all right now?"

She took a couple of cautious steps, holding onto his forearm in case her ankle wasn't fully healed yet, and because she didn't want to let him go so soon. "Yes, I'm fine." Reluctantly, she released him. 

The two of them looked uncertainly at each other. Zelgadis muttered, "Well, I'm going to bed. I have a long journey to start tomorrow."

"Oh, yes…I should get to bed too." 

They made their way down the palace's dim corridors, with only an occasional oil lamp mounted on the wall to light their way. Amelia commented, "It must be later than I thought." 

"Hm?" Zelgadis looked at her questioningly. 

"They've turned down the lights for the night." She looked up at him. "Do you want me to cast a light spell?" 

The stone man shrugged. "Don't bother--unless you need it." To him, the corridor was somewhat dim, but surely not nearly as dark as it was for her. 

"Oh, no, that's okay. This _is_ my home, after all." A light spell was harsh and glaring, and Amelia thought it would ruin the feeling of closeness she was sensing between them. She was looking at Zelgadis when she bumped her head against a wooden shelf. "Ow!" she said involuntarily as she rubbed the sore spot.

The look Zelgadis turned on her said: 'I told you so'. Since he was right, as usual, she ducked her head and gave him a sheepish grin. 

Oddly, instead of saying something acerbic, the chimera simply watched her solemnly for several moments. Finally he sighed, and to her astonishment, offered her his elbow, as well as a small, indulgent smile. 

Her eyes wide, Amelia looked from his face to his arm and back again. Then, smiling gratefully, she gingerly placed her hand on the inside of his elbow. "Thank you," she said softly.

Zelgadis wasn't sure where the impulse had come from. It had simply seemed easier to offer her his arm than to let her continue banging into things by foolishly trying to pretend she could see as well as he. _She doesn't want to cast a light spell, for some reason. _Actually, he didn't particularly feel like casting one, either. 

Amelia led them back to the cloakroom to hang the one she'd borrowed back on its peg. Suddenly regal and beautiful once again in the elegant white gown, the young princess took his arm again, and they began to walk toward the living quarters. As they moved along a narrow passageway, Amelia said softly, "You really haven't heard any music for years?" 

"Well, not much--and none like that."

He thought back through the evening, realizing again just how enjoyable it had been. He closed his eyes for a moment, hearing again the liquid notes of the instrument, unaware of the peaceful smile on his lips. "It's been a long time." 

Amelia noticed his smile, and was pleased. They walked along in companionable silence, until she chuckled. 

"What is it?" 

She turned to him with a grin. "Can you imagine their faces when they come to tell Daddy that I've been kidnapped?"

Zelgadis had a mental picture of several men facefaulting as a cheerful Prince Phil replied in his booming voice, "_My_ Amelia, kidnapped? There must be some mistake. She spent the evening attending a concert with a good friend of the family, a fine upstanding fellow if ever there was one! And as a chimera, he makes an excellent bodyguard!"

The notion was amusing. Then he had another thought. "Amelia, does your father know where you went tonight?"

"Of course. Actually, he was the one who told me about the new minstrel in the first place." 

__

Good. I don't need the royal army of Seyrune on my trail. 

When they came to the corner where Zelgadis needed to leave her to head down the guest wing, he hesitated. "Maybe I'd better walk you to your room. In case your ankle isn't completely healed yet." 

Amelia almost protested that she had done a perfect job on her healing spell. _Wait a minute. Maybe he just wants to spend more time with me! _In any case, she was perfectly happy to have him walk her to her room, so she said nothing. 

*************

Authors' Notes: Flare Arrow is a spell that attacks living spirits or souls, not physical objects, so it was a logical choice for Zelgadis to use for a crowd-distracter.

When I was fifteen I was in a special program at school where we got to attend mini-classes at a nearby college. We learned about things like critiquing films and other stuff I've mostly forgotten, seeing as how it's been fourteen years since then, but one thing I do remember is that we got to see one of the few genuine folk-singers left in America: Odds Bodkin. I based the 'concert' Amelia and Zel attended on my experience there. I remember all the lights were turned out except for a little candle on a desk, next to the stool upon which Mr. Bodkins sat. He didn't always play his guitar as he talked, and sometimes added other sound effects with his mouth or props like bells or by tapping a foot on the ground. I also remember the 'interactive' songs, during which the audience participated. Hmm. Sounds a lot like a childrens' story hour, now that I think about it. Well, anyway, it was fun. 


	5. Chapter Five: Chimera Dreams

**Only Stone on the Outside**

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friend Shell Presto, a wonderfully talented writer/artiste (check out her A/Z story One Third Human) for her invaluable editing commentary. Thanks also to Marie, for being my faithful sounding board and offering ingenious solutions to convoluted plot problems.

**Chapter Five: Chimera Dreams**

As Amelia and Zelgadis walked toward the sleeping wing, each of them was lost in their own thoughts. Amelia kept thinking about how it had felt to be in his arms. With the heavy fabric of his sleeve pressing against her hand, she wondered again what his skin felt like. 

Zelgadis was on another line of thought altogether. "Amelia, are you sure you're all right? You haven't been this clumsy in years." 

"Huh? Oh, well, I think I'm a little out of shape, to tell you the truth. I haven't been getting much exercise lately. I've been too busy looking for…your…" she trailed off lamely, realizing that it sounded as if she was blaming him for her clumsiness. 

They arrived at her door. Reluctantly, Amelia released his arm. The princess looked down at her feet, then back up into his face. Her gaze rested for the barest instant on his lips. She felt a moment's longing for him to kiss her, even if it wasn't likely to be very comfortable. "I had a really great time tonight," she said instead. 

Zelgadis raised a stony eyebrow, half-smiling at the irony. _"You_ invited _me._ I ought to be thanking you." 

She shook her head, looking up at him with wide, honest eyes. "Oh, no! I haven't enjoyed a concert this much in a long time." Her voice grew softer. "It was so _nice_ to see you happy for a change." 

Surprised, Zelgadis met her eyes. Her sudden adoring smile caught him off guard. In the dimness, everything abruptly went surreal, dreamlike. The attractive young woman standing before him seemed to take on a sudden allure, a strange, beguiling enchantment. Her sapphire eyes glimmered with fondness, and something more. Zelgadis felt himself responding to her warmth, returning her tender smile with one of his own. His blue-green eyes looked deeply into hers, completely enthralled. _So beautiful…_

Amelia was aware of the change in his expression. He was looking at her with…interest, desire, the way a man looks at a woman. Instinctively, she responded. 

Before he could move, she stepped closer to him and reached out her right hand toward his face. He pulled back a little as her hand gently caressed the side of his face, slowly moving from his forehead down over the corner of the stones embedded around his eyes. She traced his ridged jaw line with gentle fingers, and curved at the last moment to pass over his lips. Her large eyes gazed solemnly into his, her face showing curiosity and a strange look of…yearning? 

She lowered her hand. He was too stunned to move, too stunned to think for several seconds. Then he found his voice. "Amelia--what are you doing?" He meant it to be a shout, but it came out as barely more than a whisper. 

She blinked, and her eyes widened. "Oh, Mister Zelgadis--I'm sorry." She flushed pink across her nose and cheeks. "I wasn't thinking. You see, I've always wondered what your skin felt like. I just realized that if--no, _when_ you're cured, I'll never get the chance to find out." She faltered, then said in a meek little voice, "I…hope you can forgive me."

He hesitated, thoroughly confused by his own feelings, and the actions of the past few moments. It had been a startling intrusion, a direct violation of his personal space. And yet--her touch had been one of such gentle curiosity, so innocent, and--yes, as insensitive as his skin was, so stimulating, as much as he wanted to deny it--that he couldn't bring himself to be angry with her. "Well…all right." 

The two of them stared at each other for several moments, Zelgadis now consciously feeling again that not-unpleasant awareness of her new maturity. Finally Amelia gave him a small smile, and stepped back through her bedroom door. "Good night, Mister Zelgadis." 

"Good--good night, Amelia." As her door slowly closed, he was silent, wondering over her odd behavior, and his own tongue-tied responses.

*****

__

I can't believe I did that! Amelia stood with her back against the door, her hands clasped in front of her chest. She was tingling all over at her own daring. _I know he doesn't like people to touch him, but I couldn't help myself. And it wasn't a lie. It _did _just occur to me that I might never get the chance to see what his skin felt like. _She closed her eyes, caught up in the memory of his face under her fingertips. 

The texture was smooth and hard, almost silky, like stroking a polished marble statue. No, not like a cold statue, more like…the backs of her fingernails. Zelgadis had been warm and alive. Maybe not quite as warm as a normal human, but the sensation of touching him had been…pleasing. She'd felt his eyelashes move when her hand passed near his eye, felt the tiny wire hairs brushing her thumb; the most delicate of sensations. She shivered.

She had been encouraged by his new awareness of her femininity. The looks he kept sneaking when he thought she wasn't watching…the way he'd complimented her that afternoon…it gave her real hope that her dream might finally come true. 

__

Maybe I've been holding back too much. Maybe he needs to know there's someone who would accept him for what he is…who wouldn't mind touching him. But how much is too much? I wish there was someone I could ask about this. Amelia missed her mother and older sister the most at times like this, with no one to guide her through this confusing maze of feelings, actions, and responses. _I wish I knew what he was thinking. If I knew for sure how he felt, I'd know what to do._

She had been close enough to see the dark blue-green of his eyes. Though they were slanted, with almost triangular irises like those of demons or mazoku, his eyes had not the pale, washed-out colors of mazoku. That beautiful rich teal color was due entirely to the human soul behind them. 

__

Oh, Zelgadis. Amelia didn't quite notice that she'd begun to think of him in more intimate terms. _I want to be close to you, more than anything. I wish you would let me in. _

***** 

A very confused chimera made his way back to his assigned guest suite. A set of light-blue nightclothes was waiting for him on the pillow. As he prepared for bed, he found his thoughts in a jumble. _Silly, impulsive Amelia. If she was _that _curious, she should've just asked me. It's not like I would have bitten her…_

Zelgadis closed his eyes for a moment as the image of her compelling smile returned. He pressed his lips together in a tense line, and mentally veered away, trying to dismiss the whole scene. He shook his head. _She's been acting oddly all day. First insisting that I stay here until morning, and then taking me to see that minstrel. How _did _she know I like music? Probably just a guess…I wonder what she has planned for tomorrow? If it's something embarrassing, like a party, I'm leaving. _

He climbed into the plush bed, sliding between clean, fresh-smelling sheets, taking a moment to enjoy the luxury. He remembered his reason for being there. _Still, Amelia's done me a great favor. This new lead shows more promise than anything I've had in months. If all it takes to pay her back is to stay here a few more hours, it's a bargain. She's a good friend. _

The image of her reaching out to touch him flickered behind his closed eyelids. _It's been a strange day. _A tiring one, too, as he found himself dropping off within minutes. The concert music seemed to follow him as he slept, making up for the sleep he'd lost over the last few days.

*****

Several hours later, the chimera's dreams began. He was in what appeared to be a church, and the melody being played was wedding music. Zelgadis was sitting among the well-dressed lords and ladies, who were all watching the back of the church, obviously waiting for the bride to appear. 

"Who's getting married?" he tried to ask them, but apparently no one could see or hear him. Just then, the music gave an introductory trill. The crowd rustled and whispered. Then Amelia and her father appeared in the doorway. The princess was a vision of beauty, radiant in her white wedding gown. _Amelia's getting married?_ He felt a flicker of alarm, but somehow he could only sit and watch numbly as she walked past him down the aisle. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. He saw the solemn look on her face; he could even see the tears shining in the corners of her eyes. _Tears…of joy or sorrow?_

Then everyone was turning to the front, and Zelgadis looked for the groom. There _was_ a man in black standing in front of the priest, but for some reason the chimera couldn't make out his face. When Amelia took her place beside the man, she turned so that Zelgadis could see her profile. He caught his breath as the princess beamed up into the man's face, her expression so full of love and joy that he felt a strange wrenching in the pit of his stomach. _She's…so beautiful._

The music was still sweet and clear, but all other sounds were muted. The priest mumbled a few indistinct phrases, after which Amelia and the groom exchanged rings. Zelgadis turned away as the two stepped together to kiss. 

The scenery changed with him. Suddenly he was standing in what looked like one of the palace's small gardens. The sun was high overhead, and everything was bright and pretty. As before, he could hear music, this time the gentle piping of a wind instrument, but all other sounds were muffled. 

He caught the unmistakable sound of a child's laugh behind him. The stone man whirled around, and stood in shock at the typical homey scene before him. Four children were tumbling together in the grass, with a fifth held in the arms of their watching mother, their father nearby. 

Not the sort of vision that should cause a hollow, aching void to open up inside you…a dark hopelessness, and a great sense of loss. Except…the mother was Amelia. Looking a little older than she had at her wedding, she turned to say something to the frustratingly indistinct man who stood beside her. Her eyes were full of love and peace. Obviously, she was happy with this man. But who was he? 

Zelgadis studied the children, looking for some clue, but they all had Amelia's raven-black hair and dark-blue eyes, even the baby. Amelia knelt in the grass, standing the little boy up, holding his hands. He began to take a few wobbly steps toward his father. Then Amelia released him, and everyone, including Zelgadis, watched spellbound as the little one managed to make it the rest of the way on his own. As the man scooped up his child, Amelia came over to hug both of them. 

The happy scene began to recede. _No, Amelia, wait! Don't go. Don't go! Don't _ "-go!" he said aloud, waking up with a jolt. He lay there in the blackness, panting, a few rare drops of sweat clinging to his forehead. 

After a minute, he was able to organize his thoughts with some coherence. _The last time I woke up like that, I was having my usual Rezo nightmare. Why should seeing Amelia get married bother me so much? Maybe it's because I wasn't expecting it. I still think of her as the same age she was when we first met. It _has _been almost three years…how time passes. I've been a chimera now for more than four years. _He felt a surge of familiar bitterness engulf him. _Damn you, Rezo!_

This train of thought was familiar, almost comforting. _If not for you I'd be living my life now, instead of putting everything on hold while I search for a blasted cure! If not for you, I might have-- _He broke off, struck by the memory of his dream. _Maybe that's it. I want to be in control of my life…maybe build the sort of idyllic life I dreamed about, with a home, a family. And Amelia…she's on the verge of having that sort of life now. _

He frowned. _But--does she have someone yet with whom to share it? _The image of her dazzling smile was still vivid in his memory. _She told me she didn't. I have no reason to doubt her--usually, she's a little _too _candid at times, _he thought with a wry smile in the dark. 

He touched the side of his curled forefinger to his lower lip for a moment, thinking. _Like it or not, Amelia was born a princess. People's lives will depend on her someday. She can't--and _shouldn't_--be the kind of person who would turn her back on her duty to satisfy her own personal preferences. _He understood--all too well. His own upbringing had been full of the same kinds of 'duties'. _But _I'm_ not royalty. And there is no longer anyone left who needs me. Except…_

The image of a miserable Amelia in a wedding gown, being forced to marry some rich, snooty prince warred with the dream-memory of her joyful face beaming at her new husband. _Hm, two months…not a lot of time. _ _Maybe…maybe I should stick around for a while. Try to help her find someone who will make her happy. _

The chimera snorted. _But what_ _do I know about matchmaking? Besides…_He glanced at the old journal, waiting patiently on the bedside table, and had an overwhelming urge to reach for it, and begin reading; to get dressed and leave at once. The familiar sense of urgency returned, as he curled his hands into fists. _I promised her I would wait. _Now he chafed at the delay. _What could possibly be so important? _

Wondering about the princess' motives made him think about her predicament again. _How is she supposed to find someone in just two months? _he thought indignantly. _What is Phil thinking? She needs someone who will support her--someone she can trust. _Without realizing it, he was caught up again in analyzing her problem. _He'd have to be pretty tolerant to put up with those frustrating speeches she's always making about justice. He'd also have to learn to put up with Phil, and to be able to get along with Lina when she visits. Eventually he could end up as king, so he has to be a good leader. Let's see…He'll have to care enough about her to try to understand her, and to protect her when she tries to take on more than she can handle…_

Mentally he trailed off as he realized what he was doing. _I guess I do feel…obligated. She's done so much for me…_The image of her innocent face flitted through his mind's eye. The stone man sighed. _I suppose two months is not that great a sacrifice…for a friend, _he decided, settling down on his pillow. He barely realized it when he slipped easily into a deep slumber. 

*****

Amelia woke at dawn from a dream of Zelgadis. He was carving a marble statue with great skill and speed. Within minutes, it was complete. Atop a large mallet with the word 'justice' carved into its base, a princess and her chimera stood side by side in bold, heroic poses. Smiling, the stone gentleman reached for her hand, and drew her close to him. Her heart leaped as she saw he meant to kiss her. She lifted her face, her eyes closing. 

Suddenly a bright light woke her. It came from the window from which the youngest maid was pulling aside the heavy drapes to let in the morning sun. The servants had been told to wake her when her guests arrived. "Thanks, Calla," Amelia roused herself to say. 

"You're welcome, Miss Amelia." The girl curtsied and left. 

Amelia sighed. _It was only a dream, _she thought in disappointment. Yawning and stretching, she sat up sleepily. Abruptly she recalled the events of the previous evening. _Oh, I hope Mister Zelgadis hasn't left already! He only promised to stay until morning, after all. _Quickly she threw on the first outfit her hand touched in the wardrobe--the same type of cream-and-pink outfit she had worn while traveling with Lina's party. She gave her hair a quick brush and rushed out of the room. 

As Amelia trotted down the hall, she noticed she was breathing a little more heavily than she was used to. _Gee, I _am _out of shape. It's probably a good thing I'm not going. I'd just slow them down. _The closer she got to his room, the slower she went, finally tiptoeing up to the door of his room and opening it a crack. She saw the shine of bluish hair. _He's still here? I almost expected him to have gone during the night. _

He was lying on his back, and she was struck by the calm, peaceful look on his face. _He looks…happy. I _wish_ he were as happy when he's awake. I understand that he feels he can't be until his body's back to normal, though._ Amelia tried, as she had in the past, to imagine him human, with flesh, not stone, with hair instead of wire, and no stones protecting his face. As always, she failed. To her, he was simply her beloved Zelgadis, and she had no real desire within her to change him in any way. 

He looks like a sleeping prince. And if I, Amelia wil Tesla Seyrune, have any say in the matter, he will_ be one before long. _Suppressing her desire to go to him, she eased the door shut. She had a lot of things to take care of. 

****

Author's Notes: In the episode where Eris has her final showdown with the Slayers, ever notice how her eyes changed from big brown liquid pools when she was talking about her love for Rezo to pale yellowish eyes with tiny irises--demonic-looking? I've noticed most of the bad guys have pale eyes, some with triangular irises, but Zelgadis has those deep teal-colored eyes, which proves to me that he's still more human than he thinks.

A little bit of character development--the old Zelgadis never would have considered putting off his quest for anything less than a life-or-death situation. 

Zel's idea of helping Amelia find a husband isn't quite as dumb as it sounds--in Japan arranged marriages were the norm until about forty years ago. Even today, I read that about a quarter of marriages are still arranged, though the prospective couples get to go out on dates first and don't have to go through with it if they don't like each other. The nice thing about arranged marriages to the Japanese is the comfort of knowing that if you really want a husband/wife, it can be arranged. If you don't have any relatives willing to act as go-betweens, there are services similar to our dating services, where you tell them everything about yourself and they match you up with people they think are compatible. Though these days I think the Japanese are pickier than they used to be--they've been influenced by the Western idea that a married couple should be deeply in love and not just like each other enough to feel they can work together to run a successful household, sort of like business partners. 


	6. Chapter Six: Lina and Gourry, here? No...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friend Shell Presto, a wonderfully talented writer/artiste (check out her A/Z story One Third Human) for her invaluable editing commentary. Thanks also to Marie, for being my faithful sounding board and offering ingenious solutions to convoluted plot problems.

**Chapter Six: Lina and Gourry, here? Not again! **

I don't have time to save the world!

Zelgadis woke up much later than he'd planned, from a deep, dreamless sleep. _Where am I? _He took note of the elegantly furnished room._ Oh. Seyrune. My cure…wasn't I planning to leave today? _

His nightly musings came back to him. _Oh, right, I decided to put off taking my journey until Amelia's situation is satisfactory. After all, if it still exists, my cure will likely still be there in a few months, and these next few months will shape much of Amelia's future, not to mention the future of the entire kingdom. _

However, staying meant dealing with the fiasco from last night, which he wasn't looking forward to. _I ought to go find that minstrel, and apologize for ruining his concert. I wonder if Phil would let me stay here at the palace? I could get a position as a guard or something…I wonder how these stuffy monarchs would react to having a chimera around? _

Zelgadis was torn between amusement, and his usual feeling of alienation--the feeling of being a freak, to be stared at and whispered about behind his back. 

Well, lying around isn't going to accomplish much. He got up and began getting dressed, thinking vaguely that he should get a second set of clothes so he could arrange to have this outfit cleaned. _ Amelia should be pleased, at any rate. She made such a fuss about my leaving yesterday. _

As he approached the dining hall, his keen hearing picked up several familiar sounds--of people eating noisily, plates clattering, beverages being slurped. Then, voices: "Hey, come on, Lina, save some for me!" 

"Ha-ha, gotta be faster, Gourry!" 

The slender chimera paused for a moment. _Lina and Gourry, here?…Oh, no. Not again. I don't have time to save the world! _He strode into the hall, prepared for a verbal confrontation. 

At first, neither of his friends noticed him. Then Lina looked up and saw him."Zelgadis! Well, long time no see! Look, Gourry; it's Zel!" 

Gourry paused with a forkful of sausages. "Hiya, Zelgadis. Good to see ya. Hey, we thought you'd never get up. Amelia said--" He stopped abruptly as Lina leaned over and ate the sausages off his fork. "Hey!"

"So what brings you two here?" Zelgadis braced himself for the answer. 

"Just a visit--every now and then I get the urge to experience palace life." Lina said breezily. 

"Its food, you mean." Zelgadis observed with his usual wit, profoundly grateful not to be caught up in a life-or-death situation at this point. It occurred to him that he should probably be more genial. He hadn't seen his friends in nearly a year, after all. "It's good to see you both. You look well." His voice deepened with real warmth as he relaxed back into their familiar company. 

"Thanks, Zel. So do you." Lina glanced up for a moment from her plate.

He caught her eye. "So, any big changes in the status quo?" he teased slyly, his eyes half-closed. 

Lina colored, while Gourry obliviously continued eating. "That's _not_ the safest thing to ask me first thing in the morning, Zelgadis!" she blustered, as Gourry finally looked up, bewildered. 

"I guess that answers my question," he replied in his rich voice, amused. Lina was so easy to tease, although he knew he couldn't push it, or he'd end up eating a fireball for breakfast. 

Lina's attention was caught by Gourry trying to sneak a piece of bacon from her plate. "Hey, that's mine!"

Zelgadis shook his head as he took a seat across from the squabbling pair. _They haven't changed a bit. _He poured himself some tea, and wondered where Amelia was. She was normally an early riser. Maybe these two knew. "Have either of you seen Amelia?" 

"Yeah--chomp, chomp--she said she had some stuff to do--gulp--and that she'd meet us as soon as she could," Lina explained.

__

It figures. Oh, well, I'm not going anywhere. He pulled the old journal out of the deepest pocket in his cape and opened it, knowing it was useless to expect a lot of conversation from his friends until they'd satisfied their enormous appetites. Idly, he wondered how they could both eat so much and not get fat. Did wielding a sword and using high-level magic really burn up that much food? 

It wasn't long before he heard a familiar patter of footsteps in the corridor. Amelia, dressed in the clothes he was used to, came trotting in and sat down next to him. "Miss Lina, Mister Gourry; you didn't!" she exclaimed, looking at the nearly empty table. "I _asked_ you to save some for me!"

Lina looked sheepish, giving one of her rare apologies. "Oh--I forgot. Sorry."

"Yeah, me too. Sorry," Gourry echoed.

Amelia sighed. "Oh, well. Mister Zelgadis, have you eaten anything yet?" 

He almost said not to bother, because he honestly wasn't hungry. Then he realized that she was, and was looking for an excuse to order yet more food from her--no doubt--exasperated cooks. "Not yet." 

"All right. I'll ask the cooks to one more batch of everything. Just one!" She looked sternly at Lina and Gourry, making Zelgadis wonder how long they'd been eating. There was only half the usual amount of empty plates on the long table. _It's not like Amelia to refuse them food. _He stored that observation away along with the other uncharacteristic behaviors she'd been exhibiting lately. 

Amelia left the room again for several minutes. Zelgadis continued to study the old book until she returned. Again she chose to sit next to him. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, debating whether or not he should announce that he intended to delay his trip, but just then a harried servant came running in with a huge platter full of dishes. 

Amelia insisted that he take some, although he protested that he didn't need it. She quickly served herself, then let their insatiable companions at the substantial amount remaining. The young princess smiled at them wryly, apparently amused and a little embarrassed at their eating habits. Zelgadis recalled that for all her ladylike manners, she could eat just as voraciously if she was hungry enough. Not _a pretty sight._

Oh right, I was going to ask her why she made me promise to stay here last night. He opened his mouth, but she interrupted him before he could get the words out. 

"Is that all you're going to eat?" Amelia looked at the meager portions of eggs and sausage on his plate. 

"Yes, Amelia." He rolled his eyes. She was like a mother hen, always concerned. _A mother… _He grew thoughtful as his dream came back to him, and was taken by surprise when Amelia held a spoonful of a crumbly pastry up to his mouth. 

"Have you ever had purpleberry pastry, Mister Zelgadis?"

"No." He moved his head to the side.

"It's one of my favorites. Please--try a bite." She sounded sincerely polite, but since it was obviously a choice between eat it or wear it, he gave in and opened his mouth, rolling his eyes upward with a long-suffering expression. Amelia was a little off-center, but managed to place her spoon in his mouth with a minimum of spillage for such a messy pastry. 

"Not bad. A little tart, but not bad," he said after he'd swallowed. 

Lina and Gourry were engaged in one of their famous fork-a-thons, trapping a particularly savory bit under crossed forks. _Now that I think about it, they probably use up half the energy they get from the food just by eating it, _Zelgadis thought in amused exasperation. 

Amelia was struck by the fact that Zelgadis had regular ivory teeth, rather than stone ones. _Ivory _is_ stronger than most kinds of stone, isn't it? Thank goodness for that. He has such a nice smile--when he uses it._ She also noticed something else. "Oh, you have a bit of pastry on your chin," she murmured discreetly to him. 

"I do? Where?" He rubbed his face with a cloth napkin.

"Oh--still there." 

"Where?" He frowned. The stones protecting his face were not particularly sensitive, which was great if they happened to be on the receiving end of a blow, but bad if he needed to rely on sensation to tell if there was something on his face. It was one of the reasons he hated eating in public. 

"Here--let me get it." Amelia reached toward his face with her linen napkin. The sight of her hand coming toward him almost made him duck away reflexively, except that at the last moment, he was struck by the memory of her hand on his face the previous night, of the look in her eyes. Holding still, he could faintly feel her rubbing gently on his chin. 

"There--got it." She smiled triumphantly as her hand withdrew, holding the white cloth napkin with a little bluish-purple-and-brown speck in it. "It was stuck in between two of the-ah," Her eyes widened. "I did it again, didn't I?" She smiled sheepishly as she explained, "I keep forgetting to ask your permission before I touch you. But you know, to me, you're just a person, like everybody else." 

While he was still digesting that unexpected comment, she added, "Well, except for the fact that you're very special to me." 

Zelgadis dropped his fork. It seemed to take forever to fall, while Amelia's words almost seemed to echo, somehow. The entire room was silent. Amazingly, Lina and Gourry had both frozen into the positions they were in, watching them with wide eyes. 

Aware that her face was bright red, and her heart was thumping wildly, Amelia crumbled under her friends' combined gazes. "Er, what I mean is, you and Miss Lina and Mister Gourry are _all_ very special to me!" she blurted into the silence.

Zelgadis gave her a long look with one stone eyebrow raised before picking up his fork and turning his attention back to his meal. Amelia sat with flaming cheeks. _What a coward I am!_ she berated herself as she listlessly picked at her breakfast. _I had the perfect opportunity to tell him how I feel about him. Miss Lina already knows…why couldn't I have left what I said alone? _

Zelgadis assumed she was embarrassed by her faux pas. _For a minute there, she had me going. I thought…never mind what I thought._

After several minutes, Lina asked the chimera, "So, Zel, found any good leads?" 

Relieved to be back on normal conversational grounds, he replied, "Yes, actually, a quite promising one. I have Amelia to thank for that." He nodded at her over his teacup. 

"Really, Zel?" Lina's eyes lit up. "Would ya mind if Gourry and I tagged along?" 

"Er--" He was caught off-guard. The pair of them were good, trustworthy traveling companions, excellent for watching his back in a fight. However, it was usually Lina who got them _into_ fights. She had a tendency to collect enemies and get sidetracked a lot on screwball capers that usually ended up with one or more of them looking like fools by the time they were through. Of course, they managed to help a lot of people too, which was sort of gratifying… 

But the truth was that having them along would most likely just slow him down--that was why he'd gone off on his own ten months ago. However, he had the perfect excuse. "Actually, I'm not going yet." 

"What?" Amelia and Lina both exclaimed. 

"Well, you see, you must know that Amelia's going to be married within the next two months, right?" the chimera began matter-of-factly. 

"Hey, really?" Gourry answered predictably. "So who's the lucky guy? Oh, I know--I bet it's Ze-" He was cut off as Lina's elbow on his head drove him facedown into the tabletop. 

"Stop interrupting, Gourry; that's rude!" Lina bellowed to the unconscious man.

__

Look who's talking, Zelgadis thought, careful not to say it out loud. He looked at Amelia. _So there _is_ someone. Maybe I can find out later. _He continued, "Now Amelia told me she hasn't found anyone special yet. And I…well, I…I owe her a favor, so…I thought I'd stick around for a while and help her look." He trailed off, realizing for the first time how lame that sounded. 

Both girls gave him incredulous glances. "Let me get this straight, Zel," Lina's voice was sarcastic. "You're gonna go around _interviewing_ guys to see if they'd make a good husband for Amelia?"

The stone man turned almost lavender as he recognized how incredibly stupid that sounded. "Well--yeah--something like that." he mumbled. Even Gourry, who was awake now, stared at him.

"No--you can't!" Amelia spoke for the first time since he'd made his declaration. Her blue eyes held a look of shock.

"Huh? Amelia, just yesterday you asked me to stay here. I thought you'd be happy." He was really bewildered now, looking from one protesting girl to another. Gourry traded puzzled glances with him--but then, that was normal for Gourry. 

"Oh, it's not that, it's just…" 

"It's just that she knows I want to go along, and I'm _not_ gonna sit around waiting for months while _you _play matchmaker!" Lina stated in her most intimidating tones. 

Amelia added, "And--and I can manage on my own. Even though it's very sweet of you to offer…I'd feel horribly guilty if you waited all that time and ended up not getting cured." 

Overwhelmed, the chimera backed off. On the rare occasions when the girls teamed up against him, he'd always lost the argument. He recognized the signs. Lina was working herself up to the flashpoint--literally--and Amelia was backing her. He glanced at Gourry, who shrugged in an 'oh, well, what are ya gonna do' pose.

"Fine, I'll go then." He scowled. _I was trying to do her a favor. What's wrong with that? _

"Oh, good, because your ship leaves as soon as you board." 

Thrown for another loop, Zelgadis could only echo: "My _ship?" _

"Oh, I forgot to mention it--I arranged for a ship to take you part way."

Lina piped up, "You did, Amelia? Gee, that was sure nice of you. Wasn't it, Zelgadis?" She smiled sweetly at him. 

"Oh--uh, yes." 

As always, Gourry was a step behind. "Does that mean we're going on a ship?" 

"Sure," Amelia answered cheerfully. "There's plenty of room on board. And you'll get there much faster by sea." 

__

Now I understand why she wants me to go. She must have gone to a lot of trouble to arrange all this. And as long as Gourry doesn't have to dress up like a girl, Zelgadis thought, giving the blonde swordsman an amused glance, _the two of them probably won't get into too much trouble._

It occurred to him that he owed her some thanks. "Amelia," he said, looking her solemnly in the eye, "I can't thank you enough for all you've done for me. If--if you ever need anything…" he added impulsively.

She blushed fetchingly under his stare. "Actually, there is one thing…"

"Yes?"

"Try to come back in time for my wedding ceremony. I--I really want you to be there."

He gave her one of his rare smiles. "I'll try." 

She returned his smile, but it wasn't her usual happy grin. "I _wish_ I was going with you," she sighed, her face full of melancholy. "I'll miss you."

Not many people said that to him--at least not with sincerity. He softened. "I know, Amelia. I'll miss you, too." It didn't even occur to him to be surprised that he meant it. 

This time Amelia's smile was genuine.

****

Author's Note: Some of you who are observant may have noticed that Amelia and Lina are acting a little…peculiarly. Is something going on that Zel doesn't know about? You bet! But I'm not gonna tell ya--you'll just have ta keep on readin'! Mwah-ha-ha! 


	7. Chapter Seven: A Touching Farewell

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

__

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friend Shell Presto, a wonderfully talented writer/artiste (check out her A/Z story One Third Human) for her invaluable editing commentary. Thanks also to Marie, for being my faithful sounding board and offering ingenious solutions to convoluted plot problems.

****

Note: 'Guiolin' is pronounced 'gee-oh-lin'-- 'g' as in 'great'.

**Chapter Seven: A Touching Farewell**

Across the table, Lina cleared her throat, sounding as if she had a bit of a cold starting. Zelgadis watched Amelia glance at her. Then she looked at him and said brightly, "Oh--I just remembered--there's something else I want you to see before you go. Miss Lina, Mister Gourry--why don't you finish eating and meet us at the ship? It's waiting at the river docks." 

"Sure thing, Amelia," Lina agreed, and scooped up some of that berry pastry Amelia had fed him earlier. 

The princess stood up and looked at him expectantly. _What now?_ he wondered, following her out of the dining hall. Amelia looked back at him, or maybe past him, her expression serious. The chimera looked back, but saw nothing unusual--just plates of food rapidly disappearing, courtesy of his friends. 

Amelia had looked back to see Lina give her a wink, and the 'v' for 'victory' hand sign. _I just hope Miss Lina's ideas work. _She led the bemused chimera to a large, mostly empty chamber with a high cathedral ceiling. On the floor was a large rectangular box with a big purple ribbon on one corner. 

"A-a present? For me?" He looked at her in puzzlement. "You've already given me so much, Amelia--" 

"Well, I just thought--we've known each other for three years now, so I must have missed your birthdays." 

"That's all right. I never got anything for you, either," he replied logically. 

"I know. But Ze--Mister Zelgadis--it would really honor me if you would accept this gift--and think of me when you use it." She bowed to him formally. 

Zelgadis looked surprised. "It-it means that much to you?" She nodded. "Then…I'll treasure it." he replied gravely. He knelt down and fiddled with the ribbon. 

"I just know you're going to love it!" Amelia could hardly keep from jumping up and down. Carefully untying the ribbon, Zelgadis lifted the cover off of the box. Underneath were several pieces of cloth padding. Pushing them aside, the chimera froze as his stone fingers brushed against something, and a thrumming musical note was heard. _It couldn't be._

It was. The box contained a beautiful guiolin. Amelia's heart overflowed with joy when she saw the pleased delight on the face of her friend. Suddenly he looked years younger. For a moment, Amelia had a glimpse of what Zelgadis might have looked like as a young teenager, before the weight--literally--of the curse had descended upon him.

__

How did she know? Zelgadis thought in happy amazement. He examined the instrument. Even a casual glance revealed that it was an extremely well-made guiolin, with well-seasoned wood and graceful lines--a work of art. It had been lovingly polished. Standing up, the chimera lifted the instrument from its bed, noting the waterproof oiled satchel underneath, to protect it from inclement weather. 

He settled the guiolin into his arms, and gave it an experimental strum. It was perfectly in tune. He began to play an impromptu melody, closing his eyes, forgetting for a moment where he was. The room's acoustics were excellent, allowing the sweet, rich music to permeate the room. 

Amelia watched in wonder as a smile of peace and contentment spread over the chimera's features. She was enchanted. The music coming from the golden guiolin was heavenly--light and free and full of a kind of quiet joy--all the emotions the chimera never allowed himself to show. 

She moved away toward the center of the room and closed her eyes, letting herself feel the music. After a few moments, she began to move with the melody, giving herself up completely to it, letting the music tell her body what to do. Only opening her eyes every now and then, just long enough to keep from bumping into anything, she moved around the room, experiencing a kind of grace she hadn't known she possessed. 

The two of them continued their private concert, lost in another world. Unbeknownst to the young princess, Zelgadis watched her for the last several minutes, a serene smile on his face. The awkward young girl was gone, replaced by a beautiful, graceful woman. He watched her as she spun and stepped, moving her arms in flowing patterns, gliding here and there. 

Finally, reluctantly, he brought the music to a natural close. Amelia held her pose for a long moment, them opened her eyes and smiled at him. "That was the most beautiful music I've ever heard," she said softly.

He bowed his head, still smiling that gentle smile. "Thank you. And that was the most beautiful _dancing_ I've ever seen." He looked her in the eye. "I didn't know you had it in you." 

She grinned, coming closer. "Neither did I. I've been schooled in dancing, of course, but…this time, it felt like I wasn't really me at all, only part of the music. I'm not even tired." She hesitated, but encouraged by the sense of intimacy the music had created, and remembering her tentative decision to try to reach him through touch, she placed her hand over his where it held the neck of the guiolin. "When you come back, we've _got_ to do this again." 

He didn't try to avoid her hand. "We will," he agreed softly. "When I come back. That's a promise. But I can't take this guiolin with me." 

"What?" She stepped back. "But why? I thought you liked it!"

"I do. It's an excellent instrument--the best I've ever seen--but can you imagine what condition it would be in after months of traveling--especially with Lina and Gourry along?"

Amelia pictured a battered pile of wood with curled guiolin strings sticking out of it. A sheepish chibi-Lina stood nearby, her hand behind her head, a sweatdrop at her temple: '"Sorry."'

The princess offered desperately, "Well--I can always get you a new one--"

"No, Amelia. This guiolin was made by a master. It would be very wrong to waste such loving craftsmanship. Please…" He bent down and laid the guiolin back in its box. "Keep it safe for me until I return."

She looked at it for a long moment, then nodded reluctantly. Amelia had been counting on that guiolin. She'd searched all of Seyrune for the best money could buy, hoping he would be impressed and appreciative--which he had been. She also hoped he would like it enough to carry it with him everywhere. _He likes it, all right--but it never occurred to me that he might think it was too fragile to survive his journey!_

"What's wrong, Amelia?" Zelgadis asked. She had been unable to keep her crushing disappointment out of her face. Amelia turned, facing away from him. She wanted to cry, and clenched her fists and her teeth to stop herself, knowing it would only upset and confuse him.

Zelgadis came around to stand in front of her. She read puzzlement and concern in his blue-green eyes. "Amelia?" 

She looked down at her fists. _I will _not_ cry. _The sight of her familiar bracelets gave her an idea. She pulled one off quickly. "Here--then take this." 

"What?"

"I want you to have _something_ to remember me by!" She meant to sound frustrated, but somehow her voice came out all plaintive and quavery. 

"Amelia…" He was astonished, and a little dismayed. Her bracelet was so very…pink.

But she was clouding up, her lower lip trembling, her dark-blue eyes shimmering with tears. "Take my ward bracelet. Return it to me when it's all over." The metal ball rotated slowly on the pink cloth wristband. "Just--just promise me you'll come back. No matter how it turns out. I--I couldn't bear the thought of not knowing what happened to you--especially since I'm the one sending you on this journey in the first place." 

Her voice was trembling a little. In her big dark eyes the chimera could see fear for him, and agonizing indecision over whether to disobey her father and accompany him. 

Her concern eased away his discomfort. "All right, Amelia," he said, feeling a little like a parent soothing a child. He could put up with carrying it--he'd just find somewhere inconspicuous to put it. "I'll keep it safe, and bring it back as soon as I can. You have my word." 

As he lifted the shining metal sphere from her palm, each of them had an odd sensation--a sort of pulling apart. For Zelgadis it faded quickly, leaving just a faint memory, but Amelia wavered, and had to shake her head several times and breathe deeply before the strange feeling diminished. She became aware that Zelgadis was holding her shoulders, bending down to ask, "Are you all right?" 

Maybe she still felt a little odd. Maybe it was the sight of his concerned face so close to hers. Whatever the reason, she gave in to the sudden overpowering impulse that came over her. The raven-haired princess reached out and placed her hand on his right cheek, under his hair, and before he could move, pressed her lips to his other cheek. 

Zelgadis had been alarmed to see her go pale, and sway a little. Unthinkingly he'd slipped her bracelet onto his wrist, and taken hold of her shoulders to steady her. He watched her shake her head, and take some deep breaths. "Amelia?" When her eyes opened, they were unfocused. He bent down a little to look into her face. "Are you all right?"

Her eyes suddenly locked on his. In the next moment, her hand was on his face, and barely a second later, she was pressing her lips against his stone cheek. He pulled in his breath in shock, unable to move. 

Amelia held the kiss for several electrifying seconds, then released him. Somewhere along the way he'd let go of her shoulders. She gazed at him with a little smile, her blue eyes all soft and warm and shimmery.

Then she blinked, and her eyes went wide. She blushed. "I--" she stopped, and took a couple of steps backward. "Well, um…goodbye, Mister Zelgadis!" She turned and dashed from the room. 

Slowly he straightened up, staring after her with a look of wonder. The hand with the bracelet came up absently to touch the cheek where she'd kissed him. After a few minutes, he slowly made his way out of the palace, heading for the docks.

***** 

Amelia was in her room. She just couldn't face him now. What had possessed her to--to kiss him? She sat down on her bed, remembering how his face had been warm and alive under her touch. She'd felt tiny movements as his jaw dropped a little, felt the prickly, fine wire that was his hair. Her nose had touched one of his protective embedded stones. She had barely noticed, however, discovering the feel of warm, silky-smooth stone beneath her lips… 

She sighed, touching her lips with her fingertips. _I hope I haven't ruined everything. One thing's for sure,_ she thought wryly, _I doubt he'll forget about me anytime soon._

*****

Zelgadis met his traveling companions with little recollection of how he had gotten there. 

"Zelgadis! You made it." Gourry greeted him.

"Where's Amelia?" Lina looked behind him.

He paused, his face back to its usual calm mask. "She already said goodbye at the palace. I don't think she's going to make it to the send-off." 

"Oh, that's too bad," Gourry commented.

Lina gave the chimera a sharp look, but only said, "Oh, well, let's get going." She and Gourry began walking up the gangplank. 

__

Already taking charge, Zelgadis thought wryly, half amused, half annoyed. He turned to take one last look back at the white palace, feeling a curious twinge in his stone chest, then followed his friends.

****

Author's Notes: I hope it's not too confusing when I switch from one viewpoint to another. Also, if I want to show both sides of the same conversation from different viewpoints, it's tricky, so sometimes I have to resort to telling the same scene twice, each from a different viewpoint, as in the kiss scene. 


	8. Chapter Eight: Things Get Interesting W...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friend Shell Presto, a wonderfully talented writer/artiste (check out her A/Z story One Third Human) for her invaluable editing commentary. Thanks also to Marie, for being my faithful sounding board and offering ingenious solutions to convoluted plot problems.

**Chapter Eight: Things Get Interesting When **

Lina's on the Move

A tough-looking older man met them at the top of the gangplank. "Mister Zelgadis, I presume?" 

__

You see any other chimeras around here? he thought in automatic sarcasm. He nodded.

"Aye'm Cap'n Barrig. Aye was told by Princess Amelia that ye were in charge of this expedition."

"What?" Lina burst out, looking dumbfounded. 

"It _is _my quest, you know," Zelgadis reminded her snidely, a little indignant at her presumption. "Besides, Amelia didn't even know you were going, did she?" 

"Oh--right. Gourry and I just happened to drop by for a visit." Lina laughed, with her hand behind her head. 

Gourry added his two cents: "Yeah, out of nowhere, Lina decides we ought to come here and see Amelia right a--" 

Lina's elbow in his stomach folded him over. "Quiet, Gourry, I told you not to--please go on, captain." Zelgadis gave the pair of them his best impassive you-realize-you're-making-a-spectacle-of-yourselves stare, then turned back to the captain. 

The man was looking a little doubtful, as if he wasn't sure it was a good idea to let them on board. Zelgadis nodded his head slowly in a dignified greeting. "I apologize for the interruption, captain. My full name is Zelgadis Greywyrs, and my companions are Gourry Gabriev, and Lina Inverse." 

As he'd expected, the mention of Lina's name caused those crew members within hearing distance to react in shock and fear. "The Dragon Spooker?"

"The Bandit Killer?"

"Seyrune's Demolisher?"

__

That's a new one. Zelgadis glanced at Lina, who looked exasperated. He heard her mutter under her breath, "One little mistake! Never mind all the times I've helped out, they _always_ have to bring that up."

Privately, he was surprised at her restraint. Normally, she would have been blasting fireballs at the name-callers. He could only assume she felt guilty for her catastrophically miscast spell which had destroyed about a quarter of the main city. 

__

Grrr, if we didn't need this ship and crew to make it there and back before Amelia's betrothal ceremony, I'd fireball the lot of them. Lina gritted her teeth, and smiled. "That's me. Pleased to meet ya." 

After a moment, the captain relaxed a little. "Aye need to see to the casting off. Our cabin boy, Shellis, will take ye to your quarters."

As the young man was leading them to their quarters, Lina commented slyly, "Hey, Zel. Nice bracelet." _Damn!_ He'd forgotten he was wearing it. 

Lina watched, amused, as the blushing chimera pulled the bracelet off his wrist and hid it in his fist. _What's he doing with Amelia's bracelet, anyway? And where's his guiolin? I can't ask, since I'm not supposed to know about it. Did he refuse it? That jerk! After all the trouble Amelia went through to get it for him. He must have broken her heart. Argh, I'm going to fireball him the first chance I get! _

She could feel her face growing red with anger. _Wait a minute. If he broke her heart, why does he have one of her bracelets? _The diminutive sorceress recalled a conversation of nearly two years ago.

FLASHBACK 

The four of them are sitting around a campfire in the woods. Lina comments on Amelia's new bracelets: "They're really nice-looking, but how come the bands are different from each other?" 

Amelia (beams): "It's traditional to have them unmatched. You see, they're not just bracelets; they're wards. Family heirlooms, in fact, passed down through the female line of my family for generations. They're supposed to have been made by a powerful sorceress-ancestress of mine."

Gourry: "Really? What do they do?"

Amelia: "Well…we _think _they're protective wards. Actually, no one's sure, because they're so old. But you can sense some kind of spell on them if you concentrate. No one can identify it, but it's supposed to be a passive spell, which activates at need. All of my ancestresses have worn them into battle, and come out alive, so our best guess is that they're for protection." 

Zelgadis (actually coming over to take a look at them): "That's interesting. I always thought they were just for decoration." 

Amelia (looking pleased at his interest): "Oh, no. They're very special. This is the first year I've been allowed to wear them." 

END FLASHBACK

__

Anyway, what does Amelia think she's doing? Lina thought as she followed the cabin boy with her companions._ If anyone should be in charge, _I s_hould. And I can't even say anything about it because I can't let Zelgadis know that Amelia and I have been planning his courtship all along! _

The red-haired sorceress looked up at the slender chimera walking in front of her. She frowned, disgruntled. _I suppose if Amelia wanted Zel to believe that Gourry and I are only coming along by chance, it would make sense to put him in charge. But I don't like it!_ Lina sighed. _Well, at least I can ask about the bracelet._ "Hey, Zelgadis, how come you have one of Amelia's bracelets?" Unable to stop herself, she shot the questions at him rapid-fire. "Isn't it a family heirloom? And what did Amelia want to show you, anyway? What _happened _back there?" 

He glanced at the sailor in front of them. "Uh, nothing happened. Nothing at all. Just…oh, forget it." He sounded flustered, and turned away from her with his shoulders hunched as if to protect himself from more questions. 

__

Pretty big 'nothing', I'd say. Look at him--he's blushing like crazy. I'm gonna find out what happened back there, or my name's not Lina Inverse, Sorcery Genius! 

***** 

Alone, Zelgadis took stock of his small cabin room. It had little furniture beyond a bunk built into the wall and a flat-topped trunk at one end of the bunk. An oil lamp hung from a hook in the ceiling. 

Leave it to Lina to say something to embarrass me, he thought grumpily. _But then, what do you expect? Traveling with Lina tends to put you in humiliating situations on a distressingly regular basis. I most certainly will _not _tell her about how Amelia…how she…kissed me. _

Closing his eyes, he imagined the feeling of Amelia's kiss. Though in actuality his stone skin had barely felt the touch of her lips, he had realized instantly what she was doing and his imagination had filled in the details. Vaguely, he knew it ought not to have happened, but somehow he just couldn't bring himself to regret it. It was the most intimate experience he'd ever had. 

In his youth, his position and small size had hindered any real relationships he might have enjoyed. It had probably been his own fault. All his life he had had great things expected of him because of his ancestry, and turning out so physically unimpressive had inhibited him. He had tried to compensate by training harder with his sword, but around women he had remained stiff and formal, unable to let himself open up. Then Rezo had cursed him, completely destroying any possibility that a woman could come to love him in spite of his emotional armor.

__

What had she meant by it? A kiss for luck? Friendship? She had run from the room afterward, suggesting that she was sorry she'd done it. Probably, it had been just another one of her girlish curiosity-induced impulses, perhaps brought on by the shared music. 

Ah, the music. His mood lightened as he recalled the joy of playing that magnificent guiolin--and the unexpected pleasure of watching Amelia dance to his melody. She had been transformed, no longer his slightly-clumsy female comrade, but a being of ethereal grace and beauty. 

His keen hearing picked up a man's rough voice shouting, "Cast off!" 

As the ship began moving, Zelgadis was forcibly reminded that he would soon be out in the open sea. He disliked traveling by ship, for one simple reason--his cursed body made it difficult for him to swim. He usually coped with water by levitating over it, or using a modified Rei-Wing bubble under it, but in open water with nothing to climb… He'd had some nasty experiences--Amelia had once had to rescue him from a deep pit full of giant slugs. 

And of course, that demeaning experience when Lina had volunteered him to be the _anchor_ of that old dragon-chef's boat had not made him crazy about water, either. The memory brought with it a sharp feeling of betrayal. All of them, even Amelia, had completely ignored his protests and tossed him overboard with a rope around his waist. Although the young princess, at least, had cared enough to find him a breathing tube. 

Utterly degrading. No one should treat another person like that--like a thing,_ with no feelings. Although, to be fair, it probably didn't even occur to them that I can't swim well, or how…frightening that can be. _ He shivered involuntarily.

*****

Several hours later, Zelgadis was sipping some tea at the largest table in the tiny meal hall. Captain Barrig was sitting at its head. The chimera watched in amusement as the man's square-jawed face took on a look of incredulity as he watched a typical Food Wars Chowdown, starring Lina and Gourry. 

After several minutes, Barrig asked Zelgadis if his friends were also part demon. "No offense," he added quickly. "It's just that Aye've known large men with big appetites oll me life, and never 'ave Aye seen anybody pack away so much in one sitting. Did ye go for a spell without food, then?"

"No," he answered calmly. "We had breakfast this morning." He enjoyed the looks of bulging-eyed surprise that appeared on the faces of the nearby sailors. 

"Why, yes, Lina and Gourry always eat like that," came a familiar voice from behind the chimera.

Zelgadis spun around. His blue-green eyes, wide with surprise, narrowed as he identified the owner of the voice. "Xellos!" he spat.

"Hello, all," Xellos' face wore its usual sunny smile.

"Xellos? What are _you _doing here?" Lina paused with a piece of chicken in her hand. 

"Oh, just idle curiosity." 

"Yeah, right. Try another one," Zelgadis said flatly.

"Who is that? How did he get on board?" The captain had recovered from his surprise. 

"Oh, that's Xellos. He's a friend of ours--well, sort of." Gourry piped up. "He can appear and disappear out of thin air."

"A mazoku?" The captain and several sailors nervously reached for various weapons.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, no need for that." Xellos held up his open hands in an 'I'm harmless' pose. "Truly, I only came to see what Lina was up to."

"Why?" Lina's eyes narrowed suspiciously. 

"Because things tend to get…how shall I put it…_interesting_ when you're on the move." The mazoku wagged one finger in Lina's direction, opening one pale purple eye in a kind of reverse-wink. "Don't think I haven't noticed all the traveling you've been doing lately. And seeing as how you're headed to the holy Temple of the Ancient Oracle, I've decided to keep an eye on your progress." 

Xellos continued in a conversational tone, "Being an immortal can be extraordinarily boring at times, you know, and you all can be _so_ very entertaining." His voice became jovial.

Lina gave him a hard look, under which he seemed to go all meek and submissive, as he often did in her presence, for some reason. He put his hand to the back of his head, a drop of sweat appearing at his temple. 

Perhaps she reminds him of his master. The thought popped into Zelgadis' head. 

"That's _really_ the only reason you're here?" the fiery-haired sorceress probed. 

"Why, Lina, I'm hurt," he pouted. "You know I've never lied to you. Sometimes there were things I couldn't speak of, but I've never told you anything false. Why should I, when the truth is so much more fun?"

__

Fun to torture us with, Zelgadis realized. "So how do _you_ know where we're going?" he challenged.

The seemingly-benevolent trickster held up one finger. "That…is a secret." He vanished. 

Lina snorted. "Like we couldn't see _that_ one coming." She gave Zelgadis an amused glance. "You know he never answers questions like that." 

"So, do you believe him?" 

"About why he's here? Well, I've been trying to remember if he's ever lied to us, but you know, I can't think of a single example." She looked thoughtful. "He's always deceived us in the past by just leaving out some of the details, not telling us something that wasn't true."

"So, you _do _believe him?" Zelgadis asked again. 

"Yes," she said slowly. "And that worries me. What would a mazoku find interesting?" 

"You, apparently." The stone man frowned thoughtfully. 

Lina flushed, and suddenly turned to look at the watching sailors. "All right, guys, the show's over! Quit staring!" 

The seamen came to life, scrambling over each other to leave the room. 

****************************************

****

Author's Note: I wouldn't go so far as to say Zel has a phobia of water; for one thing, he's too stubborn and controlled to let something like fear make him useless in any situation. He avoids water when he can, and deals with it when he has to, but I really think he's more scared than he lets on. In episode 25 of Try he has to ride in a Lina-powered rowboat for a short distance. Everyone knows it's wise to sit down in a moving boat--why is he standing up as if he was ready to leap up into a Rei Wing spell, and why is he holding onto the little boy? Who is he bracing--himself or the boy, who is sensibly sitting down? 

So, thanks to Xellos, we now know where our heroes are headed. But how does _he_ know? Sore wa himitsu desu! ^__^


	9. Chapter Nine: How It All Started

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friend Shell Presto, a wonderfully talented writer/artiste (check out her A/Z story One Third Human) for her invaluable editing commentary. Thanks also to Marie, for being my faithful sounding board and offering ingenious solutions to convoluted plot problems.

****

Note: I got the name 'Mellesande' from the awesome movie 'The Flight of Dragons'. Pronounced 'Mel-eh-sahnd', with the first two 'e's as in 'elf' and the last one silent.

Chapter Nine: How It All Started

Only Gourry and Captain Barrig remained seated. "Ah, Mister Zelgadis, are ye sure ye want to continue with this voyage? What with a mazoku lurkin' around, I mean." 

"Oh, don't worry about Xellos. If he says he's only here to watch, he's only here to watch." Lina laughed nervously. Zelgadis noticed she didn't mention anything about what _else_ they might run into on this quest. 

The captain looked at Zelgadis. He nodded, reassuring the man. It didn't occur to him until later that he really _was_ the leader of their group in the captain's eyes. 

After Barrig left, Lina turned to Zelgadis. "So, Zel, what can you tell us about this 'Temple of the Ancient Oracle?'" 

Lina was disgruntled at having to ask. She had planned to know a lot more about their situation before they left, but there hadn't been time. 

***** 

Several months ago, she and Gourry had been visiting Amelia. Gourry had gone off to stroll around the palace when Amelia had asked if she could speak to Lina alone. As they walked through one of the little palace gardens, the young girl hadn't been her normal cheery self, and Lina had asked what was wrong. Tearfully, Amelia had answered, "Oh, Miss Lina, I don't know what I'm going to do! They're making me marry some stranger because of tradition!"

"What? What tradition? What stranger?" Lina spluttered. 

"One of the royal suitors. The tradition in Seyrune is that all royal children have to be married by their seventeenth birthday, or they lose the throne."

"Since when?" Lina demanded. 

"Oh, it's been like that for generations. I've always known about it, but I never really gave it much thought. I mean, seventeen years is a long time, you know? Plenty of time to look for--" the young girl broke off, her lower lip trembling.

"Oh, Amelia," Lina murmured. "And you haven't found the right guy yet, huh?"

"No--I mean, yes. There's someone I really want to marry, but there's no way I'd be allowed to."

"You have? Who?"

"Mister Zelgadis."

"Really? _Zel?" I knew she had a crush on him, but…marriage? _Understanding hit her. "Oh, and you won't be allowed to marry him, because he's a chimera," Lina said delicately. Amelia nodded miserably. 

Another thought occurred to her. "Does he want to marry you?"

"Ohhh, I don't know!" Amelia wailed, throwing her arms around the startled sorceress. After a moment, Lina put her arms around the sobbing younger girl, who was her little sister in all but blood. _Poor Amelia. Sometimes I forget all the responsibilities that come with being a princess. At least when _I _get married, it'll be to somebody I really want._

She stroked Amelia's sleek black hair to soothe her. "Calm down, Amelia. Let's talk about this." 

"Okay," the princess sniffed, releasing Lina and pulling out a pink handkerchief with red hearts on it. She wiped her eyes dry and blew her nose with an unprincessly snort. 

They sat down together in the grass. "Amelia, you're sure about this? I mean, Zel's a great guy and all, but somehow I can't picture him being especially…romantic." Lina's mental image of Zelgadis was of him as a friend, or a brother; a trusty comrade who would back her in a fight unquestioningly. 

"Oh, yes," Amelia beamed, gazing off dreamily into the distance. "He's brave, and smart, and honest…strong and caring and handsome and--"

"Handsome?"

"--he looks so cute when he blushes…"

Suddenly Lina snickered. "He does, doesn't he?"

Amelia gave a weak giggle. "That's more like it," Lina said approvingly. "Problems don't get solved by being a crybaby."

The younger girl sighed. "I know. It's just that ever since I overheard a conversation between two of the maids…"

The two of them talked for some time, working out a plan of action. "It's really in two parts," Lina decided. "One: we don't know for sure if Zel wants to marry you, so we need to find out if he's in love with you, or if he's only capable of seeing you as a friend. Two: whether he loves you or not, it becomes a moot point if you're not allowed to marry him. Besides…" Lina flushed a little. "I'm sure both of you would…be much happier, if Zel was…well, normal…" 

Amelia caught on to her vague reference. "Wedding night…" she murmured, and suddenly went bright red. 

"Ahem, so uh, part two is finding Zel's cure." 

"Right." 

The plan was to get Zelgadis cured in time so that Amelia could court him, and discover whether his reserve was due only to shy insecurity, or simple indifference--and hopefully get through the barrier he had built around his heart. 

So Lina and Gourry had begun a circuit of the surrounding towns, investigating every library and temple and holy place, questioning priests and healers and wise men (and women) for answers. Amelia had started her own search through Seyrune, studying ancient books and manuscripts and learning the archaic styles of writing. 

__

It feels good to have a mission again. Sure, ridding the world of bandit gangs and claiming their treasure was fun (not to mention profitable), but Lina had to admit she was happy to be able to help one of her few real friends in such an important way. 

Gourry seemed to enjoy the trip as well. He basically only knew that they were looking for clues to Zelgadis' cure, but she had tried not to mention why, as he was notoriously bad at keeping secrets. What if they ran into Zelgadis? 

Every now and then Lina would think about the reason for their mission_. I still can't believe Amelia's going to be married soon. I mean, she still acts like a kid half the time. I would have thought she was nowhere near ready to be married, but…she really does want this._

She shuddered. _That's not for me. Not yet. Sure, I'm eighteen, but… _The idea of 'marriage' brought along uncomfortable images of 'growing up' and 'settling down' somewhere, to run a business, raise a family…to be tied down. _No way. Not for a long time. It's a good thing Gourry likes to travel as much as I do. He and I… _Her thoughts broke off suddenly. 

__

Gourry…and me? Did I really just think that? Startled, she turned to look at her blonde companion. He was walking slightly ahead of her with long, easy strides, looking the same as he always did. And yet, in light of her thoughts, somehow he seemed to have taken on an odd, mysterious fascination, as if she'd never really looked at him before. Idly, she noted the smooth play of muscles under his clothes, the long sweep of yellow hair swaying slightly from side to side, his faint, familiar male scent, tangy in the breeze… 

He seemed to sense her gaze, and turned to look at her questioningly. She quickly looked away in embarrassment, feeling her face grow hot. _What am I thinking? _She mentally laughed at her outrageous thoughts. _Gourry? Yeah, right. The guy's not bad looking, I'll give him that--but with his brains…no way. _

As time grew short, Lina began sending word of their next destination to Amelia through couriers, so that if she needed to contact them, the message would be there to meet them. One morning she'd received a frantic, hastily scrawled message. 

__

Miss Lina, I think I found the cure--I'm almost positive--but it's a long way from here. There's no time to lose. I sent for Mister Zelgadis already--he should be here in a few days, knowing how fast he travels. Please hurry and come back as soon as possible. I'll try to stall him if he arrives before you do.-----Amelia

__

We're gonna have to hurry to get there by the time Zel does. "Come on, Gourry--we're going back to Seyrune." 

"What, already? I thought we were looking for a cure for Zelgadis. Something to do with Amelia, right?" The tall swordsman had managed to pick up enough hints here and there to have a vague understanding of what was going on, even though no one had told him why. 

__

Drat! Lina debated with herself to try to explain everything to him, or hope he would keep quiet about it. _I'll have to tell him. He knows Amelia's in on this, and he's sure to say something to Zel. _"Okay, look, Gourry," she began as they walked out of the town, following the road back to Seyrune. "I know you can't keep a secret to save your life, but do you think you could do it for Zel and Amelia's future happiness?" 

"Future happiness? Aren't they happy now?" 

"…Never mind that. We've got a problem. You know Amelia's a princess, right?"

"Right." 

"And she has to follow certain rules for the good of her kingdom, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Well, one of those rules says that Amelia has to get married by her seventeenth birthday. And the guy she wants to marry is Zelgadis."

"Hey, really? That's great!" Gourry grinned.

"Not really. You know how shy Zel is when it comes to girls? Well, Amelia really loves him, but she's not sure if he loves her, or if he just feels he _shouldn't_ because a chimera would never be allowed to marry the princess of the capital of white magic."

"Who?"

"Amelia, you dolt!" Lina knocked him on the head. "Zelgadis is afraid he won't be allowed to marry Amelia while he's a chimera, so he's afraid to love her." _At least, I hope that's true._ "That's why we've been looking for his cure." 

"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?" 

Lina facefaulted onto the dusty road. After a few moments, she wearily got up. "Just don't mention anything about romance when we're with Zelgadis, okay?" She decided against trying to explain why. Her face hurt where she'd hit the road. 

"Got it. No romantic stuff." He was unusually quiet for the rest of the trip back, giving her thoughtful glances now and then. Several times, Lina almost asked him what was bothering him, but fearing a repetition of the previous conversation, she used the time to plan a few things instead. She also caught herself gazing speculatively at him a few times when he wasn't looking. 

Upon their arrival at daybreak, she learned that Amelia had planned a couple of things on her own. While Gourry started in on the food, Lina had a quick private chat about Amelia's prior evening with Zelgadis. "A concert, huh? Not a bad idea…and he really liked your new gown? I told you he would…he actually let you touch his face?"

Amelia was much encouraged. "He seems to be happy here. At first he wanted to leave, but later, he stopped mentioning it altogether. He didn't even look at the book the whole night. Oh, and he said I was pretty!"

"That's great, Amelia! I'm really happy for you," Lina said warmly. "So, when are you going to give him the guiolin?"

"After breakfast, I think. I wanted to let him sleep in--he looked so weary yesterday."

"Well, we can't wait too long. We don't want to make it back from this trip just in time to have you pop the question on the poor guy. Zelgadis isn't the kind of guy to make spur-of-the-moment decisions that'll affect his whole life--at least not anymore. I imagine he learned his lesson the hard way." 

Both girls were silent, recalling Zelgadis' strained explanation of how he had wanted his grandfather Rezo to make him a better fighter, stronger, bigger and tougher than nature had allowed for. 

Amelia frowned. "Miss Lina, I love my father, but there are times when he just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut." 

Lina shot a surprised look at her friend. _Since when does Amelia criticize her father? _

"He told Mister Zelgadis about my wedding. I could have died--I really didn't want him to know. If he thinks I'm getting married to some other man he won't even consider--well, ah..."

"Making a play for you himself," Lina finished. 

Amelia nodded. "Right. He's already so self-conscious about his appearance--even though I can't understand why--that I'm afraid something like this might discourage him even more." 

__

Love is _blind. _Lina snorted in amusement. "It's probably just as well. This way he knows there's a deadline--it saves me from having to make up a lot of lame excuses about why we have to hurry."

"I suppose so." The younger girl looked doubtfully in the direction of Zelgadis' room. 

*

Gourry had almost spilled the beans a couple of times already, even though technically he hadn't actually mentioned anything about romance. But Zelgadis had quick wits, and was likely to infer Gourry's meaning through diverse clues. 

*****

Now, she wanted to get her hands on that book herself, to see exactly what it was that Amelia had found. A couple of quick, whispered sentences really didn't tell her a whole lot. And he _had_ read a little of it yesterday with Amelia, and some this morning during breakfast. 

Zelgadis looked down at the petite sorceress and flushed a little. "Well, I don't know, exactly. I haven't had much of a chance to look at the book yet." 

"Why not?"

"I was--busy last night."

"Oh? _Busy?" _Lina raised an eyebrow, smirking. "And just what were you _doing_ that was so fascinating?"

The way she asked the question embarrassed him. Then his embarrassment changed to irritation. _I don't have to tell her everything I do. It's none of her business, anyway._ He stood up and began walking back to the privacy of his quarters without looking back. "I'll go take a look at it now," he said, careful to sound calm, so as not to give Lina the satisfaction of knowing she'd gotten to him. For once, she was silent. 

The redhead watched her blushing friend leave. The teasing grin on her face faded, a sad, serious look replacing it. _I shouldn't have said that. If only he wasn't so much fun to tease! He's so skittish--I remember teasing him about Amelia's crush on him. Now I wish I hadn't. _

"Well, nothing I can do about it now." Lina said aloud in a soft tone. "Come on, Gourry. Let's go look around the ship."

"Sure, Lina. Hey, did you know they keep a crate of live chickens up on deck? That means we can have fresh eggs, andfried chicken every now and then, instead of just seafood…"

Zelgadis had chosen to stay in his room mainly for the privacy, since he kept everything he owned on him. Unfortunately, his room only had a tiny porthole in the door, which let in very little light. He preferred not to take chances with a candle or oil lamp on a wooden ship, which left him the option of going back out, or using a lighting spell. He chose the spell, deciding he wanted to avoid distractions. _Distractions named Lina._

For three days the chimera deciphered the journal and studied the map, only emerging once a day for food. At the beginning was an encouraging message, written on the inside cover, obviously written later than the rest of the journal.

'As I write this, Six Years have Passed. I and my Beloved Mellesande have been Blessed with three beautiful, normal Children. I Rejoyce in their innocent, carefree Joy and Vigour. May they never have to know the Trials their foolish Papa had to undertake.'

The journal was full of bits of poetry, and phrases like 'Ah, Mellesande. My other half, my life's companion…'

He'd managed to decipher about four-fifths of the book, and keep himself occupied during the passage of the ship from the river to the open sea. By the third day, he'd had enough of being cooped up in his tiny cabin, so he joined Lina and Gourry for the noontime meal. Besides, he felt a little uneasy with the idea of being trapped in his quarters in case something should happen. 

"How's the translation coming?" Lina asked after greeting him. 

"I can understand why Amelia sought more instruction in deciphering some of this. I'm nearly through, but it's taking longer than normal because the language he uses is so archaic. I've had some experience with this sort of thing before, but--"

"So what does it say?" Lina interrupted impatiently. 

"The man seems to have been a bit of a romantic. A lot of flowery phrases, and endless descriptions of the woman he was betrothed to, but the gist of it is, he traveled from village to village for nearly five years, searching for a cure." 

Zelgadis settled back in his chair and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Now, because he wasn't a particularly powerful mage, even as a chimera, he didn't get a lot of help from most of the people he met. Actually, he spent a lot of time running from people trying to kill him, mistaking him for a mazoku. This was only about a century after the War of the Monster's Fall, you understand, fairly fresh in the mind of the collective populace. People had little sympathy for anyone who didn't appear human." 

Lina piped up, "Hey, so you're one-up on this guy already. You have an entire _ship_ at your disposal, _and_ the backing of the royal house of Seyrune."

"Oh, so did he--at least, the woman--his betrothed--was a princess of Seyrune." 

Gourry made one of his rare astute observations. "You and this other guy sure have a lot in common."

There was an awkward silence. Slowly, the chimera turned an odd shade of lavender. "Ah…yes. Well, actually…if I hadn't met you all, I suspect my fate might have been distressingly similar to his." 

Everyone in the room was silent for a long moment. Then Lina spoke up boldly. "Well, you _did_ meet us. And now we're gonna find your cure and--who knows? Maybe there'll be some unclaimed treasure lying around!" She had miniature stars in her eyes.

Zelgadis half-laughed, a single syllable which came out more from his nose than his mouth. _She'll never change. But then, I wouldn't change either of them if I could. Just as they accept me the way I am._

"He left a map, right?" Lina got up to take a look. 

"Yes. I've been studying it. It's actually not that badly drawn, considering. Of course, most of the towns are irrelevant, since humans tend to move around a lot--but you can get a pretty accurate idea of where to go using the other landmarks. You see--here, where he--"

A piercing blast from the crow's-nest watchman's horn cut short their conversation. "Sea dragon!" the watchman bellowed, his voice hoarse with terror. Zelgadis scooped up the journal and slipped it into the deepest pocket of his cloak, and took off after Lina and Gourry. 

*******************************************

****

Author's Note: So that's the Plan--to cure and court our elusive chimera! Amelia will be appearing in many future chapters, for those of you who might have worried. Plenty more Z/A moments along the journey.

And Lina is starting to suspect that Gourry may be more to her than just her best friend. 


	10. Chapter Ten: Sea Dragon! A Tragic Loss

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are references in this chapter to several episodes from Next which may confuse some people, but the only spoiler is a small scene description in the Author's Note at the bottom from Next. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Chapter Ten: Sea Dragon! A Tragic Loss

A gargantuan-sized silver-green sea dragon was heading straight for them, a wild hunger burning in its gold-green eyes. 

"Oh, great. You'd think we could go through one lousy sea voyage without a dinner none of us knows how to cook attacking us!" Lina grumbled aloud. 

The sailors had a different reaction. "Help!"

"We're doomed!"

"Mama!"

__

Great. They're not gonna be any help. The red-haired sorceress shouted, "Everyone get back! Gourry, Zelgadis and I know how to deal with a sea dragon."

As the seamen hurried to obey her, Zelgadis took up a position at her left elbow, as Gourry stood on her right. "We do?" Gourry asked, drawing his excellent, but non-magical, sword. 

"Sure we do!" Lina was making this up as she went along. "Gourry, you saw the old chef slay that lake dragon we were going to eat, didn't you? Well, if Zel and I distract it, you can do the same to this dragon." 

"B-but a sea dragon's not the same as a lake dragon! Besides, I was sorta busy drowning at the time!" the blonde swordsman yelled back in a panic. 

"Stop complaining. You survived, didn't you?" 

Zelgadis exchanged glances with Gourry and said scornfully, "And people call _me_ cold!"

Gourry suddenly turned to his petite companion. "Wait a minute. Lina, why don't you just Dragon Slave it?" 

"Because, jellyfish brains; the last time I did that the ship we were on got wrecked!" 

He wilted. "Oh, yeah. Right."

"Look out!" Zelgadis shouted as the dragon's tail came swooping over the side of the ship, aiming to knock them into the water. They scattered hastily.

"Burst Rondo!" Lina chanted, to give them some time. The multiple small red and white balls of fire exploding around it wouldn't really hurt the dragon (unfortunately), but they would distract it. 

Except they didn't. The huge dragon dove right for Lina. She frantically cried, "Rei Wing!" and barely zipped out of the way as the enormous silver-green body swept past her and over the other side of the ship, breaking some of the wooden railing with a great crash of wood snapping.

"It went right for you!" Gourry said what they were all thinking. "This guy's smart!"

"Yeah. It must have had contact with other mages before." Lina's eyes narrowed. "Okay, so this _might_ be a bit of a challenge," she declared confidently. 

__

"Might be?" both men repeated, aghast. 

As the dragon approached again, Zelgadis called out, his voice ringing, "Dam Brass!" A large red sphere shot from his hands; the sonic vibrations it contained would act as an internal earthquake. Unfortunately, the great beast spotted it, dodging underwater.

As it surfaced, the dragon gave a thunderous roar and switched tactics, ramming the side of the ship with a head half as long as the ship itself. All three adventurers went tumbling heels-over-ears as the ship pitched steeply from side to side. They landed together in a heap. Fortunately for the softer-fleshed people, Zelgadis ended up on the bottom. 

Lina looked up from her position of flat on her back with her legs over the chimera's back to see Gourry on top of her, his face buried in her modest bosom. She had had the breath knocked out of her, and was too busy sucking in shaky gasps of air to react. Gourry didn't move. 

Zelgadis shifted under her. "You guys all right?"

With a groan, the blonde swordsman tilted his head so that he was looking at Lina with his chin in her modest cleavage. It took several seconds for his position to register. Then, just as she was pulling in a breath to either yell at him, or maybe fireball him, his eyes widened and he scrambled backward. His voice was panicky. "I'm sorry, Lina; it was an accident! I didn't mean it. Please don't kick me!"

His last statement puzzled the redhead enough that she forgot her anger. _Why would he expect me to kick him? And why should _that_ scare him more than a fireball?_

The ear-splitting bellow of the sea dragon made her shelve that puzzle for later. As she and her companions regained their feet, Lina shouted, "Elmekia Lance!" on the off-chance that the dragon had a spirit that could be hurt. 

Some did, but not this one. Her streak of yellow light struck the dragon full in the face, making it wince, but otherwise not affecting it. As it discovered itself unhurt, it snapped at Lina. She dodged behind the wooden cage of frantically squawking chickens that had been secured to the deck.

CRUNCH! The diminutive sorceress felt a gust of wind from the dragon's passage. The entire crate was gone, chickens and all. 

"All _right! _That_ does _it! _Nobody_ eats my food and gets away with it," Lina snarled. Her friends' eyes bugged out, and they backed away from the thoroughly ticked-off sorceress. An angry red aura appeared around her. Her hair and clothes fluttered upward in a psychic wind. She strode to the side of the ship closest to the dragon. 

"Oh, boy; she's mad now!" Gourry commented, impressed. 

"No, Lina! You can't Dragon Slave it! Not here!" the chimera protested, recognizing the futility of trying to dissuade Lina when she was this incensed. 

The redhead wound up, and flung her arms away from her. "Ly Briem!" A huge wave of icy air shot from her hands, blasting the dragon and the water around it. Instantly the gigantic animal was coated in ice several inches thick. 

"Whoa, Lina, you got him!" Gourry cheered.

Lina smiled at her longtime companion's appreciation. "Yeah, but not for long. It'll break out in no time. So get going, Gourry."

"Huh?"

"Go up there and stab the back of its neck. Like the old chef did."

"But--but Lina--" he protested. 

"No buts! The ice won't hold it much longer. Come on, Gourry, get your butt moving!" 

"All right, already!" The blonde swordsman leaped from the ship to land on the dragon's back. Immediately his feet went out from under him, and he started sliding down toward the frozen water. "Whoa!"

"Oh, for the love of--Rei Wing!" Zelgadis heard Lina groan as she lifted from the ship and flew to catch her usually nimble-footed friend. Just as she grasped his outstretched hand, a loud CRACK! signaled the imminent outbreak of the sea dragon. Large chunks of ice began falling around the pair, smashing into the icy sea below.

"Hurry, Gourry!" Lina shouted, swinging him up and away from her toward the dragon's neck, releasing his hand. He almost missed his perch, as the huge neck, now coated in only large patches of ice, began moving. 

Hoping to distract the enormous beast, the fiery-haired sorceress flew in a wide circle around in front of it. It lunged for her, and she wildly dodged it with a yelp of fear. 

Zelgadis flew up beside her. "Let's see what we can do to distract it," she told him. He nodded grimly, glancing down at the dark water-and-ice-soup below them. 

__

I hope Gourry's got a good grip on it. Lina paused for a moment to try to look for him. 

Apparently Gourry's sword had been busy, as the sea dragon gave a truly deafening scream of pain and whipped its head back and forth. "Look out, Lina!" Zelgadis called out--too late. The dragon's huge scaly head bashed into her, throwing her down toward the water. Everything went black and wet. 

"Lina!" The pain-crazed dragon snapped at the stone man as he flew down toward his friend. Its teeth actually caught his cape, tearing it. He ignored it, recasting his modified version of 'Rei Wing'. A shield of wind created a bubble around him, protecting him and giving him air as he mentally guided it down underneath the waves. Just as the water closed over his head, he heard Gourry scream, "Lina!"

Lina was sinking, unconscious, her hair spiraling upward in the ocean's currents. The chimera brought the bubble down to engulf her. She lay on the curved bottom of the sphere, unmoving. A trickle of blood came from her mouth--a sign of internal injuries. He clenched his teeth and his fists. _I need to heal her--and I have to get us both out of here before that dragon catches us. I can't count the times I've wished it were possible to cast two high-powered spells at once._

The stone man brought them to the surface, and landed them on the ship, dissolving the bubble. The dragon was shrieking in pain, but didn't seem to be interested in attacking, so Zelgadis tuned out its screams and knelt down next to his injured friend. "Recovery." 

The white light that emerged from his hands sped up her body's healing process a hundredfold, but it was still an agonizingly slow process, showing how badly wounded she'd been. Vaguely, he was aware of the fading cries of the sea dragon. 

When he looked up, Gourry was kneeling nearby, sheathing his sword. "Is she gonna be all right?" he asked, obviously more concerned about the young woman who lay before them, than about his own injuries. The swordsman's face and hands were scraped and bruised. 

"Yes, she will be--are you all right? How did you get rid of the dragon?"

"I tried stabbing his neck like Lina told me, but there's an awful lot of neck on a dragon, you know? And when I saw her fall into the water…"

Zelgadis pictured the scene, as Gourry described it: With hair flying, eyes deadly serious, the powerful young man leaped through the air , and brought his sword down in a mighty slash across one of the sea dragon's eyes, half-blinding it. "I guess he decided he'd had enough--or maybe he wasn't hungry anymore after eating those chickens. So he left."

"If it's smart, it won't come back." Zelgadis gave his friend a half-smile, and some rare words of praise. "Good work, Gourry." 

"Thanks," the young man answered, still watching Lina. One of his large hands reached out to cup her cheek gently, his thumb wiping away the line of blood. Zelgadis noted a rare, tender look appear on the other man's face. "Lina," Gourry murmured. 

"She's almost healed," Zelgadis said reassuringly. Then for some reason he added, "She's a remarkable woman, isn't she?" 

"Yeah," Gourry agreed.

Even Zelgadis was surprised at the next statement that came out of his mouth. "I envy you." Gourry looked at him questioningly. "You've found your lifelong companion. She may be egotistical, and violent, and have crude table manners…but you love each other." 

Gourry opened his mouth as though to protest, but then one of those uncommon thoughtful looks crossed his face, and he remained silent. After a long moment, Zelgadis said softly, his head lowered, "There can be no one for me until I've been cured. What woman would ever want a hideous monster like me?" The chimera's silver-blue hair hid most of his face.

He didn't see Gourry's eyes light up, or notice him open his mouth to say something, because just then Lina moaned and opened her eyes. Instantly both men's attention was on the petite redhead. "How ya feeling?" Gourry asked her.

"All right, I guess. Hungry. Hey--what happened to the dragon?" Lina jumped up. "Did you get it? All right, Gourry!" she cheered.

Relieved that neither of them had come to harm, Zelgadis smiled at the scene of tall Gourry standing sheepishly with his hand on the back of his head, looking down at her. "Actually, I only got one of his eyes. He ran--er, swam away." 

"Oh. Well, at least it's gone. So, Zel, let's have another look at that map." 

He reached for it, intending to let her examine it while he healed Gourry's minor injuries. His hand went through his cloak. The dragon's teeth had left two neat slices in it--and one went through the pocket where the book was. Or had been. "It's gone!" he exclaimed, aghast.

"What?" Lina yelped.

"I must have lost it when I went into the water to rescue you." Zelgadis stood frozen in horror, looking exactly like the stone statue he so resembled. 

"Maybe we can look for it. Dry it out…" Lina suggested after a moment, sounding doubtful.

"No use. By now it's been dissolved by the salt water. It was a _very_ old book." 

"Oh, Zel," Lina murmured.

He hung his head as a wave of hopelessness engulfed him. _This is it. Never to be human again._ "I guess I always knew I'd spend the rest of my life as a freak," he said softly, hardly noticing he'd spoken aloud.

"Don't say that!" Lina sounded shocked. "You can't give up now!"

"Sorry to call off your treasure hunt, Lina, but--" he began bitterly, but she interrupted him. 

"Never mind the treasure; what about Amelia?" 

Even amidst his despondency, Zelgadis was surprised. Lina _doesn't care about treasure?_

"Are you gonna waste all ou--_her _months of hard work just because of a little setback like this? You saw the map, didn't you?"

"Well--yes. But--"

"No 'buts'! _You're _gonna lead us, Zelgadis."

He protested, "I don't know if I can remember it right. And I didn't get the chance to finish the book--I have no idea what we'd be facing when we got there."

"Since when has that stopped us?" Lina walked up to him and grabbed the front of his shirt, staring into his eyes, an intense look on her face. "Come on, Zel, Amelia's counting on you to be back by her wedding ceremony! You don't want to disappoint her, do you?"

"I--" The chimera's common sense told him to protest, but a combination of Lina's fierce determination, his old longing to be human, and the mental image of Amelia's face if he returned as a chimera made him subside. 

Lina nodded. "Okay. Hey, captain!"

Captain Barrig had emerged from below decks with a cleanup crew of sailors. "What 'tis it, Miss Lina?"

"What instructions did Amelia give you about our journey?"

Again, Zelgadis noticed that the captain looked at him first, as though to make sure Lina was authorized to ask such questions. He nodded to the man as if to say, _go ahead._

"Aye was told to take ye north up the coast for two weeks, then dock where ye specified. Then Aye'm to wait for your return." 

"That's all?" Lina looked disappointed. "Well, then, we're gonna need a map." 

"A map?"

Lina made Zelgadis write down everything he could remember about the old map on one of the captain's maps. Watching her, the stone man couldn't help but pick up a little of her hope. Just a tiny flicker, but after the dark inner chill of depression, it was very welcome. 

Lina studied the map. "So Seyrune is here, and the temple we need to get to is almost directly north of there. However, there are several mountain ranges between here and there, which would make a round trip of about two months. That's really too close to our time limit for comfort. Seyrune's not a coastal kingdom, but by sailing northeast by river, and then north by sea ought to eventually cut off about two weeks--not to mention it's a lot more comfortable way to travel. Of course, we also risk storms, and attacks by sea monsters, but I think we can handle those." 

Zelgadis didn't miss the appreciative glance she gave to Gourry. For once, the swordsman noticed it, too, and smiled back at her warmly. 

A little uncomfortable, Zelgadis turned to the captain and volunteered to help guide them. "I know how to use a compass, and other navigational tools." 

Captain Barrig accepted readily, saying in a hearty voice, "Glad to have the help, sir." 

****

Author's Notes: For those of you who haven't seen all of Next yet, when Gourry asked Lina not to kick him he was referring to an episode where Xellos tricks Gourry into touching Lina's chest; she responded without thinking, kicking him fiercely between the legs. Gourry may not have a good memory, but _that's_ gotta stick in his mind!

By the way, I know sometime after Try Gourry is supposed to acquire another magic sword called the Blast Blade, if I'm not mistaken, but in my fic he's using a nonmagical one. 

Gourry is less analytical than his friends, which to me indicates that he would see the dragon as a live entity, in this case, male, rather than an 'it', as his friends refer to it. 

This is my first try at writing Slayers-style comedy. Hope you all got a chuckle or two out of it! ^__^ 


	11. Chapter Eleven: Sunset Reflections

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Chapter Eleven: Sunset Reflections

Every day he was gone, Princess Amelia wil Tesla Seyrune's thoughts constantly drifted back to Zelgadis. _He's been gone two weeks now. _Was he all right? She knew he didn't like ship travel--deep water was his only real vulnerability. But sailing was the fastest possible way to travel, and there was precious little time. 

__

I hope they're all okay. She even seemed to worry about them in her sleep. Every morning she woke up feeling as if the room were rocking, and she was always surprised to discover that she was in her own bedroom. 

Today, she remembered, was to be yet another trial. She was expected to attend yet another ball thrown in her honor, so as to meet several dozen prospective suitors. She'd been so busy the last few months that she'd managed to avoid going to any, making excuses not to attend. 

Amelia sighed. Going to balls had been so much fun when she was younger. Her father had been bewildered at her change in attitude, but seeing other couples happily dancing with each other made her feel Zelgadis' absence with a sharp ache in her chest. 

Even though he probably would have been grumbling about the noise and people getting drunk and making fools of themselves and how ridiculous he felt in a formal outfit, like some of the other girl's beaus. Just having him there with her would make her happy. 

Her father had approached her a few days ago. "Amelia, is something wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's not like you to mope around like this. Has something happened?"

The princess hadn't realized until then how uncharacteristically quiet and withdrawn she'd been acting. "Nothing's wrong, Daddy. It's just…I miss Mister Zelgadis…a-and the others." 

"Ah." The crown prince looked sharply at her, but didn't comment.

__

I wonder if Daddy suspects anything. It's not that I'm ashamed of how I feel, but what good would it do to declare my love for Zelgadis if I can't marry him? Or…or if he really doesn't love me. I know Seyrune's laws. It would just make an awkward situation for everybody. 

Amelia almost wished that she didn't have to be so concerned with justice, or laws. _But I _like _being a princess. I love being able to make a difference for the better in people's lives. It's so awful that the same thing that brings me so much happiness is also the cause of my pain._

*****

Zelgadis had spent many quiet days studying the map, and avoiding Lina's attempts to make him tell her what had happened between him and Amelia just before he boarded the ship. Of course, she was also the one to notice that he had taken to carrying Amelia's bracelet on the strap of his canteen. When he refused to discuss why he had temporary ownership of it, Lina had brought up another embarrassing memory, " 'Interviewing prospective husbands'--hah!--just like a man!"

To avert that train of thought, he had asked her if she was planning on using him as an anchor on this journey. He wasn't entirely joking.

Lina rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Actually, Zel, the captain told me we lost our anchor a few days ago. But don't worry--we're not dragon-hunting on this trip. We won't need to use you…unless that sea dragon comes back."

His jaw dropped. She let out a peal of laughter. "You should see your face! I was kidding!"

Sometimes, sitting in his cabin with nothing urgent to really occupy his mind, Zelgadis found his thoughts wandering back to past adventures with his friends. They had started out as enemies, true, but had soon realized that they were all on the same side, with a common enemy in Rezo, the Red Priest. His grandfather. 

Zelgadis and Gourry Gabriev were good friends. The tall swordsman had accepted his appearance from the start, and had genuinely not seemed to notice or care about their differences--not even when they shared a bathing pool at an onsen. What he lacked in brains, he made up for with his generous, easygoing nature. 

Lina Inverse had been a bright spark in his life from the first time they'd met. She had treated him as a man from day one. Her unwavering enthusiasm for living always made life around her interesting--although her unreasonably short fuse and sometimes calculating nature meant that you had to watch your step around her as well. And associating with her _did_ have the distressing tendency to land him in some pretty humiliating situations.

Still, it occurred to him that until he'd met the pair of them, he'd been well on the way toward becoming the same kind of monster on the inside as he appeared to be on the outside. If Lina was not pleased with you, she was never shy about letting you know about it. Only once had she ever tried to physically dominate/punish him the way she did Gourry and Amelia--and even Xellos. He had not protested, because he'd felt he deserved it, after making an especially unfeeling remark to Sylphiel after her father was killed. 

After that, he had begun to be more careful about what he said to others. Lina hadn't tried to hit him again--but her tongue could leave wounds worse than any blow. In a way, she had helped him to be a better person--more human. He'd learned to care again. 

He had to smile, thinking of his two friends. They made a good team--in spite of the dramatic differences in temperament and intelligence, they were remarkably alike in their eagerness for travel to new places, in living for the moment, even in their eating habits. The bond between them was a powerful one--and Gourry, at least, acknowledged it, even if Lina wouldn't--or couldn't.

Amelia--their first meeting hadn't gone particularly smoothly. Also, she had a tendency to overreact in tense situations, and had a youngster's ability to dramatize. She could be as domineering as Lina, although she used her inborn regal nature and haughty, self-righteous, extremely exasperating belief in Absolute Justice to make others do as she wanted, rather than Lina's bad temper and fireballs. 

Yet, her eager innocence, her unwavering optimism, her courage in some of the truly horrific situations they had been in, and, he admitted to himself, her particular affection for him, could be quite charming and endearing. 

He'd avoided thinking about her lately. Not long ago he would have said his feelings toward her were those of a friend, or a big brother. But ever since their last meeting, he'd noticed that thinking about her made him feel…confused, unsettled, uneasy. Vulnerable. So, he'd tried not to think about her by focusing on the here and now. 

Lina and Gourry were always good for a distraction. He stood up and left his quarters. After a quick search, Zelgadis found the pair of them sitting together in the prow of the ship. The sun was setting off to the left, igniting the sky and water in a blaze of reds and golds. 

Blue-green eyes stared at the two of them, sitting side by side, watching the sky. _They look so close. _Suddenly the chimera felt abandoned, unwelcome; as if he were intruding. He turned away and retreated back to the lonely privacy of his room, his heart heavy with yearning and regret for that which he would probably never know.

*

Lina had spent the last eleven days sunning on the deck and raiding the galley with Gourry for snacks. All in all, probably the longest peaceful stretch of time she--or any of them--had ever spent together. Gourry and Zelgadis had taken to having impromptu sparring matches several times a day to keep sharp, but she was enjoying the chance to relax--a well-deserved vacation. According to Zelgadis and Captain Barrig, they would reach shore within a couple of hours. 

She noticed how the setting sun seemed to color Gourry's hair as red as her own, his keen, far-seeing blue eyes gazing ahead of them at the rippling waves. He had a contented little smile on his lips. Lina smiled, too. Watching him, she seemed to hear echoes of a conversation long past:

"How long do you plan on protecting me?" she'd asked. 

"I don't know…for the rest of my life?" he'd answered simply.

Now, Gourry looked down at her, still smiling. The redhead was suddenly struck by how sweet and sincere his smile was. _It's hard to believe just how much I've come to trust him--to depend on him. He's always been there for me. I can't imagine a future without him around._

Abruptly, she recalled a strange conversation she'd done her best to forget--when Amelia had asked her something about loving Gourry. _Me, love that idiot? _she responded automatically in her head. She jumped when Gourry spoke.

"Hey, Lina, I've been thinking. If Zelgadis marries Amelia, wouldn't he be the prince of Seyrune?" 

"Yeah, but it's not likely," she answered, surprised at his question. Gourry was pretty much a here-and-now kind of guy. He didn't normally worry about the future. Then again, neither did she, for the most part. 

"Why not?" 

She took a quick look around them to make sure the stone man wasn't within hearing range--his chimeric hearing range. "I _told_ you, Zelgadis probably wouldn't be _allowed_ to marry her because he's a chimera."

"But why should that make any difference?" 

__

Aside from the whole 'heir' problem… "Seyrune's the white magic capital of the wo--the known world." She'd almost forgotten the barrier to the outer world was gone. 

"So?"

"So Zel's part demon. The people of a white magic kingdom would _not_ want a man who's part demon ruling over them." 

Gourry was silent for almost a minute, staring out at the dimming sky, the breeze making tendrils of his blonde hair flutter. She hoped he'd finally gotten it. 

"Why not? It's not like he's evil or anything. He's a really good guy." 

The red-haired sorceress facefaulted with a crash. "Because, numbskull, there's no way to prove that to the townspeople! Some of them might be frightened enough to try to assassinate Zelgadis, or Amelia, or even Phil, if they believed they were saving everyone from a demon. The kingdom would end up in total chaos." 

"Boy, some people can be really dumb." Gourry commented with a rare frown at his friend's misfortune, causing Lina to drop to the deck once again. _Look who's talking!_

Another thought crossed her mind. _You'd expect someone with Gourry's mentality to be suspicious of anything he didn't understand. Maybe it's because he's so well-traveled--he's used to seeing unusual things--and people. Still, Amelia said he was sweet-tempered…_

Lina shook her head to derail that train of thought. After a moment, she continued, "Anyway, you know Zel wants to be human again. This just gives him one more reason."

"Yeah. It sure took them long enough. How many years has it been, anyway?" 

For the third time in as many minutes, the self-proclaimed sorcery genius fell over, incredulous. "What do you mean, _years?"_

Gourry gave her an astonished look. "Huh? Didn't you know? You were the one who told me Zelgadis was scared to love Amelia, right? I think he does anyway. And Amelia's had a crush on Zel since…since you went up into the sky and I had to go after you." 

He was referring to the battle with Hellmaster Phibrizzo, when the Lord of Nightmares had come. Abruptly, Lina had several clear flashes of that horrible day, and the one preceding it, when Gourry had been kidnapped. She had been devastated--in shock, and desperate to recover him. She had cried for probably the first time since childhood. 

Now she looked up at him. "Oh, Gourry." She smiled up at her…buddy? Best friend? Protector? Soulmate? She sighed, not feeling up to analyzing her feelings. 

Suddenly wanting some comfort, and reassurance of Gourry's presence, she moved closer to him, close enough to brush her shoulder against his side. He looked down at her, his sky blue eyes curious. "Are you cold, Lina?"

"Yes," she said softly. "I'm cold, Gourry." 

"Well, then I'll get you--" he began to rise, but stopped when she put her hand on his arm. 

"You don't have to get up, Gourry. I'll be fine." She relaxed against him trustingly, unaware of the contented smile on her lips. 

Gourry wondered if she was sick, or hurt, since that was the only time she ever acted so quiet. _But she _said _she was fine._ Somehow, he sensed what she wanted most was to just sit peacefully and relax, enjoying the sunset. 

After a while, he noticed that she'd fallen asleep, so he put his arm around her to keep her from falling over, and to keep her warm.

*

__

Another beautiful sunset. Zelgadis paused before entering his quarters. He was reminded of the last sunset he'd taken the time to enjoy--with Amelia. His thoughts drifted, thinking vaguely about how much she had changed, and how much she hadn't…how beautiful she had become…but then he remembered her impending marriage and his mind sheered away. He wondered what she was doing now.

*****

__

I wonder what Mister Zelgadis and the others are doing now? Amelia thought. She looked around the ballroom, where everyone was elegantly dressed, happy, and having a good time. _I wish I were with the others. I mean, I love parties, but right now I'd rather be traveling--uncomfortable and dirty, or even in a dangerous battle, if it meant I could be with them all. Not here, where I have to turn down suitor after suitor. _

Even if they treat me like an impetuous, sometimes useful little sister…I know I'm the weakest member of the group…or at least, I would still be if Mister Gourry hadn't given back the Sword of Light. Even without it, he's still better at fighting all but the most serious of threats. I'm the only one who won't use a sword.

As always, the young girl's mind veered away from the memory of her mother, horribly savaged by an intruder's weapon. Amelia had never been able to bring herself to learn to use edged weapons because of that, concentrating on developing her magic instead. 

__

And I can't even use as much holy magic as Filia. I can't call on Cephied; I can't use any of the lost white magic spells that her dragon-priestess nature allows her to use. I hate _not being able to help! _She looked down ruefully. _It's just as well I didn't go. _

Amelia looked up to see yet another well-dressed gentleman approaching her. She sighed. _Even if I _had _been looking for someone, I'd have gotten discouraged by now. _Names and faces blurred together in her mind, some handsome, some not. Some friendly and hopeful, some opportunistic and charming. Some old enough to be her father--or grandfather. 

She really wished Zelgadis was here. She could almost see him, his teal eyes shining, wearing a beautiful pale blue suit with dark purple trim, gracefully holding out his hand to her as if he was about to ask her to dance. 

Instead, a plump, jolly-looking brown-haired gentleman bowed to her, and requested the next dance. 

*****

Zelgadis sat in his small room, thinking. He didn't notice he'd unconsciously pulled his hood up over his pale blue hair, or that he hadn't moved in over an hour. His mind roamed over various subjects; wondering if Amelia had chosen a suitor yet, thinking about their mysterious destination, and how Xellos might be involved in all of this. The annoying mazoku hadn't appeared in nearly two weeks. 

I wish I'd had a chance to read the end! _It's infuriating to know I had the very information I've been searching for all these years in my hands, only to lose it! _The chimera's thoughts were interrupted by an eerily familiar roar. _Oh, no. The sea dragon!_

Immediately he extinguished the one lantern he had begun using lately to look over charts without constantly having to keep recasting a light spell. He grabbed his sword-sheathe, attached it to his belt, and headed for the door. 

****

Author's Note: You'd think Amelia would defy the laws to marry Zelgadis, judging from her bold attitude in the anime, but usually when she's being defiant, it's to fight bad guys who are _breaking_ laws. She has a high respect for the law, seeing as how she is one of the people expected to enforce it, and she has a powerful sense of duty. She knows people are counting on her, and wants to be there for them, so she really can't go against the marriage tradition. But she's a little older now, and understands that if she were to declare her love openly, not only would she outrage her people, she'd embarrass Zelgadis if he doesn't love her, and make him even sadder/depressed if he does love her, if he isn't cured in time. 

There's also a bit of foreshadowing here. Did you spot it? ^__^


	12. Chapter Twelve: Return of the Sea Drago...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Note: The magic spell 'Dragon Slave' used to be known as 'Dragon Slayer' in ancient times. 

Chapter Twelve: Return of the Sea Dragon! // 

Amelia's Having a Ball

Outside, the darkness was broken only by a few large lanterns hanging from various spots. Zelgadis heard familiar running footsteps behind him. "Lina! Gourry! It's back!" 

"I know, I know!" Lina yelled as she and her ever-present shadow materialized out of the darkness. "Why couldn't it have waited a couple more hours? We were almost to land!"

"I think it knows that. I suspect it was only waiting to heal before trying again, but it must have noticed we're not sailing parallel to shore anymore."

"Damn! It was hard enough to fight in daylight. It's got us at a real disadvantage now," Lina grumbled.

"I bet he figured on that, too. Like I said before, this is one smart dragon." Gourry pointed upward in the classic 'teacher's' pose. 

"Cunning, maybe, but not sentient," Lina corrected him absently, already thinking up fighting strategies. 

"What's sen-shent?" Gourry asked, puzzled. 

Lina gritted her teeth in sudden exasperation. _When_ would she learn not to use big words in front of him? "It means having the mind of a person, not just an animal, who only thinks of eating and sleeping." She gave him a sideways glance. "Come to think of it, there are times when I wonder if _you're_ sentient." 

After a long pause, Gourry got it. "Hey!" 

"This is no time to be squabbling, you two." Zelgadis was annoyed. _Why do I always have to be the referee? _

"Go for its other eye. That's its most vulnerable spot," Lina ordered. 

"Right. Flare Lance!" Zelgadis cast, his voice deepening.

"Bram Gush!" Lina chanted at the same time.

Twin bolts of bright energy, one of flame, the other a concentrated burst of wind, streaked toward the dragon. Unfortunately, in the darkness the agile dragon avoided them easily.

"Damn it!" Lina cursed. "The darkness helps it as much as it handicaps us!" 

"I've got an idea." Gourry took off, disappearing below deck before his startled companions could react. 

The chimera and the sorceress exchanged bemused glances. _This'll be interesting, _Lina thought before turning her concentration back to the problem at hand. "Zel, do you think you could distract it long enough for me to cast a Burst Flare?"

"I'll try. Digu Volt!" The chimera cast several blasts in a row, shooting electricity from his extended palms, while the small sorceress next to him began chanting. Her red hair lifted upward, flying around her.

"Source of all power, crimson fire burning bright! Gather in my hand and become an inferno! Burst Flare!" Huge triple swirls of magenta energy burst from her hands, rocketing toward the dragon. 

It tried to dodge. The Burst Flare was the most powerful fire spell taught to most mages, though, and the gigantic creature was caught across the side of the head, perilously close to its remaining eye. It screamed in pain, retreating.

"Nice work, Lina," Zelgadis commented, watching the dark shape of the dragon ducking its head to relieve the burns. 

"Thanks. But I doubt that'll stop it for long." 

"I've got it!" Gourry came pounding up from the lower deck. 

"Got what?" 

"This." Gourry's arms were full of food-- several large baskets full of bread, fish, and vegetables. "If we give him this, he might leave again." 

For just a moment, the two mages considered his idea. _That's actually a somewhat logical plan, considering what happened the last time. _Zelgadis thought with surprised respect.

Lina smiled at her friend. "For once, that's actually not a bad idea, Gourry, but I don't think it'll work. That dragon's out for revenge this time." 

For a moment Gourry looked wilted. "Are you sure? You said it only thinks about eating and--"

"Animals will go after people who hurt them, dummy!"

"Oh." Gourry looked crestfallen, then brightened. "Well, at least we can eat while we're trying to think of a way to stop him."

Zelgadis suppressed a snicker, allowing the corner of his mouth to twitch upward a bit. 

"You're right." Lina snatched some of the food from the baskets. "I'm gonna need some energy. It looks like nothing short of a Dragon Slave is gonna stop that thing." Lina turned to Zelgadis and asked, "Are we close enough to shore yet to fly the rest of the way there?"

Zelgadis felt a chill go through him. "I'm not sure. I'll ask the captain--and have him get the lifeboats ready, too."

*****

__

What was that? Amelia shivered. She looked around quickly, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Excuse me, Princess Amelia? I was hoping to have the next dance with you--if you're not too footsore from your previous partners," a young man's voice came from behind her, edged with laughter. Amelia turned around, and blinked in shock. 

The slender young man who stood before her bore a striking resemblance to Zelgadis. He had the same big-eyed, elfin look, the same slender, graceful body, the same fluffy hair--although his was a rich reddish-brown color. He was human, of course, with bright brown eyes, now staring at her hesitantly. 

"Um, Princess? Are you all right?" His voice was higher than Zelgadis', making her realize he was hardly older than herself. 

"Oh, ah, yes. I'm sorry for staring. It's just that…you look like someone I know." For a moment, her heart had leaped, hoping it was her Zelgadis--human. But it was too soon, and the innocent eyes staring back at her bore none of the pain in the chimera's.

"Oh, really? That's interesting. I've heard that everyone has a double somewhere. Oh, by the way, my name's Kerrin." 

Amelia accepted his offer to dance. To her surprise, she found herself chatting easily with Kerrin, who turned out to be a year younger than she. He was a prince from a neighboring kingdom. He seemed very young to her, friendly, eager, and emotionally open--almost completely opposite from the man she loved. It was interesting to see what Zelgadis might have been like if not for his curse.

He also loved to talk. "My cousin Li and I used to be best friends. Then he went off to study under some old relative of his, and I was sent away to school for four years. I just got back a few months ago." 

Amelia laughed for the first time in days when he sheepishly admitted he had a crush on her. It was not the first time a man had told her something along those lines, but most had come on strongly, with a 'let me sweep you off your feet' attitude that made her want to Diem Wind them away from her. But she didn't want to lead him on, so she confessed, "Well, you see, the man you resemble is …someone I care for very deeply." 

His eyes widened. "I didn't know you'd chosen someone already."

"I haven't--not officially. The way things are, I can't marry him." 

"Why not? In Seyrune a princess isn't required to marry a prince, is she?" 

"No, but--well, you see, he's under a curse. His body was changed, so he isn't--that is, he doesn't _look_ quite human."

Kerrin looked shocked. "That's terrible! Who would do such a wicked thing?" 

"His grandfather, actually." She decided not to complicate things by mentioning Rezo's name.

"His own grandfather? The fiend! Why don't you just make him change him back?" 

"Oh--he can't. He's dead now. My--my chosen one has been searching for a cure now for more than three years. That's where he is right now." The princess frowned. "The really stupid thing is, I don't even _want _him to be cured. _I _think he's the most handsome man I've ever met. It's only because other people are afraid of him because of his appearance that he's even looking for a cure." 

Amelia wil Tesla Seyrune drew herself up to her full modest height, trembling with indignation. Striking a heroic pose, with her index finger piercing the heavens, she cried, "Oh, I wish I could take all the prejudice and intolerance in the world and smash it all into oblivion with the hammer of justice!" 

The prince looked at her with wide eyes, impressed. "You are so cool. But what if he doesn't return with a cure before you have to marry?" 

"Then I'll be forced to--" she couldn't finish.

Kerrin was silent for a few seconds. "Is there anything _I_ could do to help?"

Amelia smiled at his earnest offer. "It's sweet of you to offer, but my friends already searched your kingdom. The only other problem I have is all these unwanted suitors." 

The young man brightened. "Hey, what if everyone thought you'd chosen? Wouldn't they leave you alone then?"

The princess was surprised. ""Why--yes, I suppose. But that wouldn't be right. I couldn't lie to someone and tell him--"

Kerrin interrupted her cheerfully. "I'd volunteer. I already know you love someone else, so you wouldn't be lying to me." 

Amelia gave him a suspicious look. "This wouldn't be a sneaky way of getting me to pick you, would it?"

The prince put his hand behind his head, a sweatdrop appearing on his temple. "Okay, you caught me. But…you can't blame a guy for hoping." She couldn't help but grin at his sheepish smile.

"Kerrin, why would you want to marry me after I just told you I'm in love with someone else?"

He looked down at his hands, twiddling his index fingers together. His face was an interesting shade of pink. "I really like you. I've seen you at parties, and ceremonies, and I really liked what I saw. I was always too shy to introduce myself before. But tonight, I saw you turning away one man after another, all more rich or handsome or powerful than me. I thought, 'maybe you're looking for someone different…maybe someone like me'." 

He looked into her eyes, and his brown ones were warm, and sincere. "I really admire you, and want to get to know you better. If not as a betrothed, then maybe…as a friend?"

Amelia was flattered. This shy boy was very different from a lot of the slick men who had been hitting on her all night. "I can always use a good friend," she admitted with a wry smile. "But as for choosing you…I wouldn't want to get your hopes up, or lead you on, or anything."

"I understand." They began dancing again. "You're really in a bad position, aren't you? Even though you're the princess of the capital city, you can't have the one thing you really want." His brown eyes were sympathetic.

The young princess didn't want to think about that prospect. She said stiffly, "It's not impossible. My chosen one is following a really promising lead to a cure. If everything works out, he should be back a couple of weeks before the ceremony." Her mind veered away from her other great fear--that he would return human, only to declare that he wasn't in love with her.

"Well, there's always hope." Kerrin said cheerfully. Amelia gave him a sharp look, wondering if he was talking more about his hopes, or hers. 

*****

"The captain said we're still over an hour from shore." Zelgadis reported tensely. 

Lina nodded grimly. "So we're gonna need to stall for time, if we want to get everyone to land alive. Ohhh, I _wish _I could just cut loose with a Dragon Slave!"

"I know." Zelgadis paused, looking at her solemnly as something that had been in the back of his mind for a while now suddenly came into focus. "But Amelia put me in charge, which means I'm responsible for looking after these men. She trusts me. And anyway, they wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me." 

Lina looked resigned. "Yeah, I know." She took a deep breath and drew herself up to her full diminutive height, smiling determinedly. "Well then, what's a good way to spook a sea dragon?"

Zelgadis smirked, raising one stony eyebrow, a rare spark of humor in his dark blue-green eyes. "You're asking _me?_ It's _your_ nickname."

Lina's face turned red. She opened her mouth to say something, but froze as Gourry yelled, "He's coming baaack!" 

Even in the dark, it was easy to see the murderous glint in the sea dragon's single remaining eye. It was swimming toward them at full speed. 

"Everyone, get back by the lifeboats!" Zelgadis shouted at the terrified sailors, who were scattered in clumps around the ship. They obeyed instantly, all of them crowding into one end of the ship near the lifeboats, which had been readied for instant use. 

Zelgadis felt a moment of gratification at their willingness to obey him. Vague thoughts about trust and respect flitted around in the back of his head as he positioned himself near Lina and Gourry. He exchanged grim glances with his two friends, all of them realizing that the time for banter was past. 

The enormous beast didn't slow as it reached the ship. To the watchers' horrified astonishment, just before it would have hit the side of the ship, it leaped straight up into the air, incredibly high, showering the trio on the deck with water.

Zelgadis heard several of the men cry out in fear. He had a brief instant to wonder why they didn't all stay down below, but the answer flashed through his mind as the dragon descended, apparently aiming for the mostly empty main deck. _If the ship sinks, no one wants to be trapped below, practically helpless in the dark. _

"Look out!" Gourry bellowed, grabbing Lina around the waist with one arm and leaping out of the way as the huge creature crashed downward onto the ship. Part of the deck gave way under the dragon's colossal weight. Showers of water, both from the dragon's wet body and from leaks in the no-longer-seaworthy hull rained down on everyone, making it impossible to keep their footing. Zelgadis heard the frightened screams of the crew as they tried to cling to parts of the ship 

Those lanterns that had survived the impact were put out from the sudden deluge, plunging everything into darkness. 

Zelgadis stumbled as the part of the deck he was standing on pitched steeply, sliding him directly toward the dragon's body. He experienced a feeling of speed, of something whizzing through the air toward him, and then he was caught in a grip of agony. His torso was being crushed between what felt like two sets of giant pikes. 

__

Teeth, he realized.

*****

Amelia was laughing at something Kerrin had said when she suddenly gasped and froze in place. Her eyes were as wide as saucers. 

"Princess Amelia, what's wrong?" Kerrin asked worriedly. 

The metal ball on her wrist band suddenly lit up, radiating a brilliant white light. Kerrin backed away, watching Amelia. All the color had drained from her face. Her eyes were huge dark shadows, dominating her small face. Her lips moved, but no sound emerged. 

"Amelia!" The young prince was agitated enough to take hold of her shoulders and shake her, trying to rouse her from what seemed to be a waking nightmare. Her head rolled loosely for a moment, but then she shook herself and seemed to see him. 

__

Zelgadis! she thought, tears coming to her eyes.

****

Author's Notes: Who is Kerrin? My very first original character. Don't worry; this isn't the start of a love triangle…though Kerrin is being honest when he says he cares for Amelia. I just get tired of all the seemingly friendly characters who turn out to be villians…I wanted someone who is genuinely _nice, _ya know? Amelia naturally doesn't want anyone to know who she's in love with, which is where the whole 'chosen one' thing comes in--it might reach her father's ears, and she's still not sure how he might react--he's so emotional. 

So who is Kerrin? No, he's not Zel's twin brother. You'll just hafta wait an' see! 


	13. Chapter 13: A Silent Cry for Help

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Chapter Thirteen: A Silent Cry for Help 

"Zelgadis!" Lina shrieked. She and Gourry had ended up landing near the crowd of sailors at the end of the ship. Immediately she had cast a large light spell in the air above the ship. She and Gourry watched, horrified, as their friend was snatched up by the gigantic beast. Neither of them noticed the white glow coming from the edges of the dragon's mouth. 

"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson be--" 

"Lina! No!" Gourry grabbed her arms from behind, slipping his arms under her upper arms and lifting her up off the ground; one of the few ways he knew of that was sometimes effective in stopping her when she got too reckless. "You can't Dragon Slave him while he's got Zelgadis in his mouth!"

"Let me _go, _Gourry!" Lina was kicking her feet frantically. "I've gotta _do_ something!"

They both froze as they heard the horrific grating rasp of teeth on stone. Gourry's grip loosened somewhat, letting Lina slip to the ground, but still holding her back protectively against him with his hands in front of her shoulders, his wrists under her arms. 

They looked up to see the dragon trying to bite their friend in half. It had clamped its teeth around his waist with the poor chimera's top half trapped inside, his legs sticking out awkwardly. Zelgadis' cape was dangling over the monster's chin, looking like a fancy cloth napkin. 

They could see it was having trouble, thanks to the chimera's stone skin. An almost human look of perplexity crossed the beast's face. It shook its head like a dog, and tried biting down harder. Zelgadis' legs jerked spasmodically, but the only result was that a small fang broke off in the dragon's mouth with a resounding snap. It froze, blinking its gold-green eyes, apparently deciding whether to just swallow or not. Finally, it turned its head to the side and spat the chimera out_--ptui!--_like Lina spitting out a piece of gristle. The stone man was propelled through the night in a high arc, radiating a stream of white light as he came down with a huge splash about a hundred feet from the ship. 

The dragon looked at the rest of the people on board. It snorted a hot gust of air at them in disgust, and pulled itself to the side of the ship with its tiny front legs. The huge beast slid over the side of the ship and back into the water, leaving a trail of slime behind. 

Everyone just stood there for about a minute, stunned. Finally, Gourry spoke up. Predictably, his first words were, "Lina, what just happened? Why'd he just leave?" 

Uncharacteristically, Lina was silent. After a few more seconds, Gourry looked down at her. It hadn't occurred to him yet to release her--he was still holding her against him, the top of her head coming to his collarbone. He could just make out her profile in the dimness. She had an odd, thoughtful expression on her face. 

"Lina?"

She blinked, and turned to look at him. Gourry looked at her uneasily--her face was strangely emotionless, her ruby eyes wide and solemn. Then, almost as if he was watching a magical transformation, her face slowly took on a familiar annoyed look. 

"Let--go--of--me." She didn't say it loudly, but it was enough for him to remember what he was doing, and to whom. He jumped back, prepared to start apologizing, but Lina simply walked over to the side of the ship, looking down toward where the dragon had vanished. Then she answered his question as if no time had passed since he'd asked it. 

"I figure the dragon assumed we were _all _made of stone." She snorted. "That's _so_ cliché--I'm surprised it worked. I guess his curse saved his butt again." She smirked, looking toward where the chimera had landed, expecting to see him swimming irritably toward the ship. 

"Right, Lina." Gourry chuckled, relieved that Lina didn't seem angry about him holding her. "Say, where's Zelgadis?"

"….." 

He should have come up by now. Maybe he's _hurt. _The petite sorceress scanned the dark waters with a growing sense of dread forming in the pit of her stomach. _Where _is _he? _

*****

__

Pain. When the dragon had seized him in its mighty jaws, he had almost passed out from the agony. Its teeth hadn't penetrated his skin, but the enormous crushing power in its jaws had almost been enough to finish him off. After all, his insides weren't made of stone. On its second attempt, Zelgadis would have screamed, except that all the air had been forced out of his lungs. He had lain there in its mouth, gasping helplessly, until a new compression forced him out into the air. 

The chimera had had no chance to recover, no chance to cast a flight-spell, and as the dark waters loomed before him he had only had enough time to take a hasty, painful breath and reach out blindly, grabbing hold of something solid as he hit with a huge splash. 

His lungs burning, a bright white light blazing all around him, Zelgadis had mindlessly clutched the object to his aching chest. His head buzzed. Trying to swim was futile--he had no idea which way was up--but he found himself instinctively kicking, anyway. 

Suddenly, he became aware that his head had broken the surface. Like a starving animal, he gulped air gratefully. Gradually, his head cleared. _What happened? _He looked at the object he was holding. It was a medium-sized, jagged piece of wood from the nearly-destroyed ship. It was just barely large enough to keep him afloat, if he treaded water.

There was a source of light coming from somewhere near him, turning the water a brilliant turquoise color. Off in the distance, he could see a bright ball of light high in the air, with the dark mass of the ship below it. "Li--" Zelgadis broke off into a fit of coughing. He could taste blood in his mouth. 

A sudden panic seized him as he fought for air, choking, gasping, coughing, his lungs burning painfully. Desperately he struggled to cry out, to call for help, but could not utter a single syllable. Several minutes passed before the spasms calmed enough for him to take cautious, shallow breaths. He experienced a surge of helplessness. _What am I going to do? I can't use my magic! And…the water…_The liquid surrounding him felt like a maw, ready to swallow him whole the moment his strength ran out. He fought the urge to moan in fear, feeling the muscles in his chest and throat on the verge of more painful convulsions. 

Don't think about it. With the same fierce courage that had kept him alive this long, he forced his thoughts away from the dark expanse of water all around him, glancing upward again at the distant ship. _I've got to stay afloat long enough to be rescued. I just hope Lina and the others are still alive… _

*****

"I have to go to him!" 

Amelia turned from Kerrin and bolted from the ballroom. Her father called after her, "Amelia!" 

She didn't even pause. _I have to go now! He's hurt--he's afraid. He needs me! _She was burning with urgency, and his fear. 

Her bracelet was blazing on her wrist, putting out light but no heat. She was too distracted to pay any attention to it, tripping on her gown, stumbling, almost falling. She recovered and clutched the skirt in her hands, running as fast as her legs could carry her to the stables.

*****

Zelgadis was slowly losing strength. Shafts of agony were clawing their way through his body, from broken bones and other internal injuries. Every breath was torture. It was nothing a powerful healing spell couldn't fix…provided he was rescued in time. _Come on, Lina, _he thought, using annoyance to cover his own growing trepidation--the fear that his friends had been killed, and alarm at the growing refusal of his body to obey his commands. _Where are you? Why did I bring you along on this farce if not to help me in situations like this? _

And where is that light coming from? I don't remember casting a light spell. The water around him was still shining with turquoise light as if somehow lit from beneath. Forcing himself to tread water, he scanned the skies once more, coughing, every jolt tearing at his chest. He spat metallic-tasting blood into the water. No Lina. 

Gradually, as his hope dimmed, his kicks became more intermittent, more jerky. A splash of water in his face alerted him to the fact that he had nearly fallen asleep. He could feel a warm, numbing haze around the edges of his mind. _The sleep of death. _

It didn't seem so abhorrent, somehow. _After all, what has all of this gotten me? My friends are probably dead; maybe all of the sailors, too. I may have helped in the past, but it looks like associating with me has brought about the very fate I feared when I chose to befriend Lina--her death. _

The silver-haired chimera pictured her in his head, grinning and holding up two fingers in the sign for 'victory'. He thought about Gourry, always ready with a smile, accepting their differences in his simple way. He closed his eyes in pain, but not from his wounds. _Maybe everyone would be better off if I was gone._

He relaxed his grip around the wood almost gratefully, ready to let go and slip quietly away under the water. The light shining around him suddenly got brighter. 

'Promise me you'll come back, no matter what…' 

Amelia? The chimera blinked. Her voice seemed to echo in his ears. It was almost as if he could see her, feel her anguish at the thought of his impending death. He could practically hear her speak, urging him not to give up, to keep fighting, to have hope. 

He had a sudden vivid recollection of how happy she had been to see him, running toward him with her arms outstretched to embrace him, and his own unaccustomed feeling of contentment to be in her company. _Amelia…_The last time he'd seen her, he had vowed to return, to play his guiolin for her again. And…she had kissed him…

With effort, he tightened his grip on the wood, curling his forearm up over its rough surface. _Have to hang on. I promised her I'd return._

*****

"Where _is _he?" Lina repeated out loud. 

"Gee, I hope Zelgadis can swim," Gourry said out of the blue. 

Lina gave him a scornful look, and opened her mouth to say something. She paused. A worried look appeared on her face. "You know, I'm not sure I've ever seen him really swim." 

"Maybe he can't. With his skin, you'd think he'd sink like a stone." Lina winced at his unintentional pun. _What if jellyfish brains is right? Oh, no!_

"Rei Wing! Zelgadiiis!" she bellowed, taking off in the general direction the dragon had spit him in.

*****

Kick. Kick. Kick. Exhausted, his head drooping with his chin in the water, eyes closed, Zelgadis no longer bothered to summon the energy to spit out the blood that each laborious breath brought, simply allowing it to run from the corner of his mouth. A small dark cloud had gradually formed in front of him, slowly dissolving in the bright water. 

The muscles in his forearm twitched as he struggled to keep his grip on the bobbing piece of wood near his head, while forcing the leaden weights that were his legs to move. He had long since gotten used to the occasional knocks on the side of his head from the unwieldy piece of wood in this unstable environment, as well as the cool laps of water that sporadically rose up to wipe his face clean. 

The effort of keeping himself afloat finally drained the last reserves of the chimera's strength. The chunk of wood slipped suddenly from his stiffened fingers and he went under, sucking in a hasty breath of air as he felt himself sinking. For several moments a surge of energy let him valiantly try to make it back to the surface, to no avail. Soon, his efforts slowed. Gently descending, Zelgadis watched the bright surface recede away from him. 

Unexpectedly, the strange light continued to shine, letting him see a little into the deep blue-green of the sea. He listened to his own heartbeat, first racing, then thumping unevenly, slowing…Oddly, he felt no more fear, no desperation, no anguish--only a deep sense of regret. He closed his eyes. Somewhere in the back of his mind flitted an image of a pair of concerned deep blue eyes. _I'm sorry, Amelia. I won't be able to come to your wedding after all…_

Slowly the vision of her face faded as the weary stone man surrendered to the embrace of the water, dimly perceiving the cool liquid flowing into that hard, unyielding stone-and-flesh shell… 

*****

"Zelgadis!" Amelia slowed, suddenly dropping to her hands and knees in the corridor. Her bracelet's light flickered. "No!" she gasped, unaware of her father kneeling in front of her, reaching out to support her by the shoulders. 

"Amelia, what's wrong?" he shouted, his dark eyes full of alarmed concern.

"Zelgadis--he's dying--I feel it…" she said, not answering him so much as verbalizing the horror in her mind. "It's all dark and cold and…he can't breathe! He's drowning!" Her own breath quickened in response. "Swim, Zelgadis! Keep trying! You can't give up now! Not when we're so close--" 

The light in her bracelet was fading. She could feel him fading as well, the blueness in her mind turning gray, dimming…

"Noooo!" she wailed, devastated.

*****

Lina was searching grimly, berating herself for having overlooked such an obvious drawback. _And I even used him as an _anchor_ once. It's just that Zel's never seemed to have any trouble with water before…what was that?_

There was a patch of light in the water, with a splintery chunk of wood floating at its edge. Heading toward it, the red-haired sorceress realized it was coming from below the surface. _It could be Zelgadis, trying to signal me. _She hesitated. _I'd better check it out. _Closing her eyes, Lina concentrated, releasing her hold on the old flying spell as she began casting the new one. Plummetting down toward the water's surface, she shouted, "Rei Wing!" 

A bubble of protective wind appeared around her, halting her fall. Mentally she guided the bubble under the water, heading for the fading source of the light. As she drew rapidly closer, she was able to make out her friend's silhouette, outlined by white light. The light seemed to be coming from him, somehow. Lina didn't waste time wondering how or why, as she noticed his head and limbs swaying limply in the current. _Oh, no. He can't be! _

Lina guided the bubble to envelop her friend. Zelgadis lay sprawled face-up on the curved floor of the bubble, unmoving. The strange white light that surrounded him was weak and flickering, but it was all she had to see by. 

"Zelgadis?" Anxiously she leaned over to look at his face--and choked on an inarticulate cry as her breath gushed out of her. The chimera had a look the young sorceress had come to know all too well over the past few years. His mouth was slack, his eyes open, staring at nothing…and he wasn't breathing. With a whimper, Lina collapsed to her hands and knees beside her friend's still body. _I'm too late! _Hot tears of grief began coursing down her cheeks. _Why didn't I start looking for you sooner? _

For several seconds the entire world seemed to disappear, leaving her in a tiny dim cocoon of absolute silence. The patter of her own tears hitting the floor of the bubble startled her with their loudness. She shook her head, mentally slapping herself. _Come on, Lina, get a grip! Stop thinking like a quitter!_ With a snarl of pain and anger she brought her fists down on Zelgadis' chest, and was rewarded with a small spurt of water from his mouth. _Ow! That's not gonna work. I need to…_

The petite sorceress stood up and stepped on the chimera's chest, bracing herself on the sides of the bubble walls for balance. His chest compressed a little more. She bounced a couple of times. More water came from his mouth, trickling down to the floor of the bubble. Lina's stomach clutched--the liquid seemed to be the wrong color for water. She stepped down and took a closer look. The water was a pale reddish color--he was bleeding inside! 

She checked to see if he was breathing. _No. Come on, Zelgadis! _she thought in anguish, looking down into his unresponsive face, her red tresses getting caught in the fine silver-blue wire of his hair. _Don't you die on me now! What would I tell Amelia?_

****

Author's Notes: Nowhere in the Slayers anime is there a scene where Zelgadis swims completely independently, although I am aware that Mr. Kanzaka, his creator, once said in an interview that Zel can swim if he fills his lungs with air. But suppose he's incapacitated by a serious injury…. 

BTW, many of my chapter titles have more than one meaning. Like chapter seven--A TOUCHING Farewell, get it--Amelia touches him fairly intimately for the first time in a long while… And sometimes the action will be in two parts. Like fighting a dragon and having a ballroom dance. 

Wondering about the mysterious white light? Then read on! ^__^


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Say, Lina, do I have ...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Chapter Fourteen: Say, Lina , do I have to kiss him? 

__

Sorry, Zel. Having no choice, Lina stood on the injured chimera's chest again. Desperately she hopped several times, increasing the force of the jumps when light ones brought no response. Finally Zelgadis jerked, and started coughing and gagging and gasping for air, sputtering as water ran from his nose and mouth. 

Thank goodness. Lina thought in relief. _I wish I hadn't had to do that. _ _I've gotta get him to someplace solid so I can heal him. _She bit her lip, noticing the darkish colorof the water on the chimera's face. She stepped off of him and began to mentally guide the bubble full speed back to the ship, wishing for the hundredth time that it was possible to use two powerful spells at once. 

It was easy to find her way back, as her earlier light spell continued to hover over it like a beacon. It took only a few minutes to fly the bubble back to the slowly sinking ship, but Lina was alarmed to see that Zelgadis showed no signs of waking up. His breathing was shallow, shaky. Every now and then he would stop breathing for a long moment, and Lina would tense up, ready to move, but then he would gasp in a little air.

She was not too concerned to notice that the light that had seemed to surround him in the water had a source--the bracelet Amelia had given him, which was still attached to the strap of his canteen. She filed that fact away for later thought. 

The light spell globe that she had cast above the ship earlier was still active, thankfully. It was a good thing light spells were relatively easy spells, which didn't need much tending, as they went out on their own after about an hour or so. As soon as she was close enough to the battered ship, she started yelling. "Gourry! Captain! I've got Zelgadis--but he's really hurt! Tell everybody to move back, and clear some of that debris off the deck!" 

She landed them on the hastily cleared deck and dissolved the bubble. Gourry leaned over the stone man, his face taking on a worried expression. "Lina, is he--"

"He's alive--barely." She held her hands out over the chimera's chest and said, "Recovery!" A healing white light surrounded her hands and his chest. There was almost complete silence for several minutes, as everyone watched and waited. The only noises came from the destroyed ship--creaking, groaning, squeaking, and the splashing from sprays of water from a hundred leaks. Lina noticed the light from Amelia's bracelet gradually fading.

Finally, Zelgadis began to breathe easier. Captain Barrig leaned over the pair to ask, "Is he going to be all right, then?" 

"I think so." Lina answered absently. _He really should have woken up by now. _She leaned down to put her ear to the wet cloth covering his chest, listening to his labored breathing. _Still sounds a little waterlogged. _Lina stood up. "Come here, Gourry." 

"What's up, Lina?" 

"I think Zel still has some water in his lungs. My spell made his other injuries heal, but it can't remove that."

"What can we do, Lina?" 

"I want you to stand on his chest."

"What?" Gourry looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. 

"Listen, Gourry, his chest is too hard to push on. You have to hop on it to force the water out. I tried, but I guess I didn't get it all. You're heavier than me, so get your butt over there! Hurry up!" she ordered impatiently.

"Well, okay," Gourry shrugged, and stepped onto of the stone man's chest. Zelgadis' breath whooshed out of him. 

"Now hop on him."

Gourry obeyed, bouncing tentatively, then giving a little hop. A splurt of water came out of the stone man's mouth. "Hey, it worked." He jumped again.

*****

Zelgadis was floating in a dark void. It was cold…empty…cheerless. Suddenly, he noticed a source of light to his right. He turned, and saw a shimmer of bright rose-colored light shining nearby. There was comfort in its light, and warmth…and something familiar about it, too. He felt himself drawing strength from it, could feel waves of reassurance and love and support emanating from it. He began to move toward it, wanting to make contact, wanting to feel more of the wonderful, caring emotions flowing over him. So familiar…As he got closer, he almost recognized its identity…

He jolted awake as something hit his ribs painfully. A familiar feminine voice shouted, "Not _that _hard, idiot! I'm trying to heal him, not kill him!" 

"Sorry, Lina," came the contrite reply. "Say, do I have to kiss him like the old chef did?"

Zelgadis wrenched himself up to a sitting position. "No! I'm fine!" he cried, and then bent over to cough, pain searing his lungs. It was well over a minute before he could speak. He was aware that Lina was using her magic to help heal him. 

Soon, he was able to breathe freely. He remembered the horrible injuries he'd suffered from the dragon's teeth, and the grueling ordeal of trying to keep afloat long enough to be rescued. The image of the rose-colored light receded into the back of his mind. 

"Thank you, Lina," he said as soon as he could speak. 

The relief in her ruby eyes was tinged with warmth. "Just returning the favor, Zel." The petite sorceress smiled at him affectionately. 

*****

Amelia was on her feet again, running across the yard in the darkness toward the stable, her bracelet seeming to guide her way, when the urgent feeling of danger faded. She could almost feel her love's faltering heartbeat settle into a reassuring rhythm. Her steps slowed. Relief washed over her, so powerful that she again dropped to her knees, her heavy silk skirt sliding on the thick grass. 

"Amelia, is he…" Prince Philionel knelt in front of her, reaching out a hand toward her face. 

"No…he's fine. He's alive," she murmured. She held up her wrist, and the two of them watched the white light fade away, leaving her bracelet the seemingly ordinary piece of old jewelry that it had always been. The two of them looked at one another in the dimness, the only light coming from the flickering lamps mounted on the palace walls. "I guess now we know what the spell is for." 

Her father nodded. "It links two people, to let one know if the other is in danger." 

"That would explain why they seemed to be dormant all these years. They're not meant to be worn together." 

"Zelgadis has your other ward bracelet?" 

"Yes--I gave it to him when he left, so he wouldn't forget--" Amelia stopped. _Oh, no. _Guiltily, she looked into her father's face. 

The dark-haired princess wasn't sure exactly what she had expected when her father found out--shock, maybe, or disapproval, or even anger. Somehow, the last emotion she had expected to see in her father's face was understanding. She couldn't speak. 

Prince Phil's eyes were filled with empathy. "You really care about Zelgadis, don't you?" 

Mutely, Amelia nodded. 

"Then go to him." 

Amelia's eyes widened. "What?" 

Her father gently smoothed back a piece of her dark hair that had fallen into her eyes. "Daughter, I understand now why you haven't been interested in any of the suitors. You've already found the one for you." 

The young woman gave her father a shy smile, relieved that he seemed to understand. Vaguely, she noticed the sound of footsteps approaching rapidly. 

The crown prince continued, "I've suspected it for some time now, but you didn't say anything, so I couldn't be sure. I've done what I could to help you--to give you the opportunity to help him find a cure--because as we both know, the people would never tolerate a chimera ruling over them. At the very least, it would cause a lot of political unrest. At worst, it would mean civil war." His rough voice was full of regret. 

Amelia felt her hope crash and burn. For a moment, everything had been okay--her father knew of her attraction to Zelgadis, and seemed to approve--but then he mentioned the very reason that had held her back from openly declaring her love, and despair swept over her. 

"Ohhh, it's so unjust!" she wailed, distraught. "People should _not_ be judged by their appearance! It's their deeds, not what they look like, that mark them as an evil person!"

"You can say that again," a voice replied. 

Amelia turned a tear-filled glance toward the voice to see Prince Kerrin walking toward her, before her father took her by the shoulders. His dark-blue eyes were huge and shimmery under his shaggy black brows. "Oh, Amelia, my daughter, how proud I am of you! My little girl has grown up to be a true champion of justice!"

He pulled her into a bear hug as they knelt in the grass. For a moment, she relaxed in her father's arms, taking comfort and drawing strength from his love. She rested her cheek against his warm chest, hearing his heart beat, feeling the echo of another heartbeat which she had recently come so close to losing.

After a few moments, Kerrin cleared his throat and said apologetically, as if he were afraid to interrupt, "I-I told everyone you weren't feeling well. They're all leaving." 

Reluctantly, Amelia leaned back out of her father's embrace. "Thank you, Kerrin," she said wearily, but gratefully. 

Her reply seemed to encourage him. "Are you all right? What happened?" 

"My chosen one--he--I--he was--" Amelia had to stop for a moment, swallowing hard. "My ward bracelet lets me know when he's in danger. He was…he was drowning, I think, and there was nothing I could do to help him. Nothing!" Sudden hot tears filled her eyes. 

"Is…is he--" The young man's brown eyes were wide with horror. 

"Oh, no--he's alive! I can sense it. But, I want--I _need_ to be with him. I have to help him. And I feel so powerless here…" She bowed her head, fists clenched, eyes shut, with tears running down her cheeks.

"Go." Prince Phil said to his daughter. She looked up, still not believing he would let her do this, even though it was the second time he'd said it. 

"Daddy?"

He took her by the shoulders again. "Go to him. Help him if you can. I can allow you to do that much. But you _must_ be back in time for the ceremony. Whether or not he's found a cure." 

Amelia's dark-blue eyes were serious. She nodded gravely. "I understand, Daddy. And thank you." She leaned forward to hug him goodbye. Then she stood up, a little shakily, and began walking toward the stable. 

Just as she reached the door, Kerrin asked her, "Are you sure you want to leave wearing that?"

Surprised, she looked down to see her beautiful lavender ball gown, now sadly torn and grass-stained. She realized what a mess she must look, and suddenly she burst out into peals of laughter, her swirling emotions finding an outlet other than tears. 

The other two began laughing as well. Amelia felt the last of the tension wash away, in the warmth of the shared laughter. "I suppose I can take a bath and change into traveling gear before I go," she giggled.

*****

The ship was sinking. Captain Barrig ordered everyone to abandon ship, taking along what supplies they could. He joined Zelgadis, Lina and Gourry in their small wooden lifeboat. Zelgadis tried not to look down at the dark water, carefully keeping to the center of the boat. Fully healed, he and the other two men took turns rowing, keeping within shouting range of the other boats. It took them all several hours to make it to land.

Finally, everyone was safely on shore. While the sailors set about making a temporary camp for the rest of the night, Captain Barrig turned to Zelgadis. "Have ye decided what course of action ta take yet, Mister Zelgadis?" 

It took him a moment to realize the captain was asking him, and not Lina. The chimera looked at the working men, thinking about the next leg of their journey and realizing that the answer was obvious. _They'd just slow us down._ "You and the other seamen will take the rowboats south, along the shoreline, until you come to a town with a ship that can take passengers back to Seyrune. Lina, Gourry and I will go on alone, on foot."

"Should I send a ship back here ta pick ye up?" 

Zelgadis hesitated. "No. If we go overland, we should arrive back within a few days of our time limit. If we stay here, it may take longer than we can afford to wait for you to find a ship and send it here. Besides, that sea dragon's likely to cause trouble." The stone man didn't mention the fact that he had developed a serious aversion to sea travel--understandable, considering the circumstances. He did not care to tempt fate twice.

"All right, then. We'll start out in the morning." The captain excused himself and went off to supervise the sailors. 

Zelgadis slowly sat down on the ground. Lina joined him. "What a night! I guess it sure made up for the peaceful trip we had on the way here. But at least we made it." 

Gourry sat down on Lina's other side. "Yeah, we're all safe, and that's what counts." Zelgadis noticed the protective arm Gourry put around Lina's shoulders--and that she allowed him to do it. _Maybe she's finally starting to accept the truth. _The chimera glanced sideways at his friends, and smiled a little. 

They sat silently for a while in the darkness, listening to the surf sweep up and down the shoreline. Eventually, Gourry fell asleep, sprawling on the sand. 

"Are you all right, Zel?" Lina asked quietly. "You had a pretty bad experience." 

"More or less," he answered, not really surprised that she had picked up on his uneasiness. "I may suffer a few nightmares…but I'll live." 

"Of course you will! That's the spirit!" Lina said, slapping him on the back, and wincing. "Ow! When will I ever remember not to _do_ that?" 

In spite of himself, the chimera chuckled under his breath. He felt better. _I often forget that real friends are there for you when you need cheering up. _He wondered what Amelia would have said to him. _She'd probably sing one of those funny little songs she's so fond of. _He pictured her perky features, beaming with delight, and smiled without realizing it. 

***************************************

****

Author's Note: Perhaps you wonder why Lina can't use two spells at the same time, since I have her maintaining a light spell over the ship while she uses Rei Wing to rescue Zel. Well, in the Slayers' world you can really only do one spell at a time, according to the manga and one of the Slayers episodes. I think it has to do with the fact that any new spell you chant will automatically dissolve the old spell. 

Light spells are one of the spells that are created with a set time limit, so you decide as you're casting it how long you want it to last. Then you are free to use other spells. But as far as I know, it's only light spells that you can 'preprogram' like this. I figure the more powerful the spell, the harder it would be to do both correctly anyway--you _don't _want to risk something going wrong when you're using high-powered magic! 

Really, Amelia should be calling Kerrin Ke-kun, since he's younger than she is, but since this is for American audiences I left it this way. Besides, I like his full name.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Sally Forth, Amelia! ...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Chapter Fifteen: Sally Forth, Amelia! //

Aberrant Notions of a Red-Haired Sorceress

Amelia set out on her journey the next morning. Her father had prevailed upon her to wait until then, saying that he wanted to prepare some traveling supplies for her, and that she should try to get some sleep.

An experienced traveler, the dark-haired princess had not taken long to pack. Shouldering her bag, she paused in the doorway to take one last look at her familiar room. Her gaze fell upon the wooden box containing Zelgadis' guiolin, at the foot of her bed. Amelia set her bag down on the floor and went over to the box. Lifting the lid, she revealed the beautiful instrument, its golden wood shining warmly. Extending a finger, she plucked at a string. The guiolin gave out a discordant thrum, as if it were sighing longingly for its owner. 

__

I miss him too. He was worried that something would happen to you. Instead he's_ the one who needs looking after! _She set the lid back in place and picked up her bag, an uncharacteristically somber expression settling on her face. _I will find him and bring him back to Seyrune, alive and healthy. I swear it._

Only her father and Kerrin were waiting to see her off when she arrived at the stable at dawn, dressed in her usual cream-and-pink traveling outfit. Her father's best long-distance horse, Gallant, a lovely, white, well-muscled animal with a friendly temperament, had been saddled and stocked with plenty of supplies. As Amelia approached the two of them to say goodbye, Prince Philionel surprised her by holding out a familiar item. 

"You're--you're giving me Seyrune's crest?" The golden crest of her family could be used to charge food and goods, in the event that she ran out of money. Her father had taken away the privilege of its use after Lina had charged up an astronomical amount of food bills on it. Amelia had been humiliated. 

Her father nodded solemnly. "May the gods speed you on your journey," he said, smiling. Amelia noticed he looked anxious, though, and guessed he was imagining what Lina would do if she got her hands on it. 

Tears stung the princess' eyes. Her father was doing everything he could to make her happy. "Oh, Daddy!" Amelia threw herself into her father's arms. "Thank you! I promise I won't let Miss Lina know I have it." 

"Thank you, daughter," he replied, not bothering to hide his great relief. "I just wish I could do more to help." 

The thought came unbidden to her mind. _You could allow me to marry Mister Zelgadis, _she thought guiltily._ But even if you did, that wouldn't make him happy. He doesn't _want _to be a chimera, so marrying him would only make _me _happy. _

Her father wanted her to bring an escort along, but she vetoed the idea vehemently. "I can fight as well as any of them."

"But you don't know how to use a sword," he pointed out.

She ignored that. "I've traveled by myself before, and besides, none of them can do magic. They'd just attract attention and slow me down." 

To her surprise, her father backed down, lowering his eyes. _Maybe I'm getting the hang of this diplomatic arguing after all. _Amelia took advantage of the break in the conversation to climb into Gallant's saddle.

"There _is _one other ahem--detail…" Prince Philionel put a hand behind his shaggy, black-haired head in embarrassment. "If you should be unable to attain a cure for him in the time you have left, you ah, that is, you need to choose a…"

Her face fell. "I need to choose someone to rule with me," Amelia said, resigned. Her throat stuck on the word 'husband'. Frowning, she looked away from her father. Her gaze fell on Kerrin. She was struck by his appearance once again. He looked so like, and yet so unlike, her love… but if she was to be married to someone other than Zelgadis, she might as well make someone else happy. 

With her heart as heavy as Zelgadis' skin, she uttered, "Kerrin." 

The young prince came forward, his expression curious. "Yes?" 

Amelia took a deep breath. "I--I don't think I could ever love you the way you want, but…if you would be willing, I would…" _Oh, Zelgadis! _She closed her eyes for a moment. "…marry you, and try to give you whatever happiness I could." 

"Really, Miss Amelia?" He beamed at her, his bright brown eyes reflecting his happiness. 

The sight of his smile, so much like the one she longed to see on her poor chimera's face, caused a stab of agony to lance through her chest. She closed her eyes again. "Yes," she whispered, her throat tight. 

She heard him move closer. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see that his face was solemn. Looking her in the eye, he said sincerely, "I hope you find him--and his cure." His voice was gentle. 

__

He means it. He wants me, but he wants my happiness more. Amelia realized in wonder. _A true friend! _A burst of elation overcame her misery. Impulsively, she leaped up onto the white steed and held up her fingers in a 'v'. "Victory!" she cried out, rearing her horse dramatically, and thundering off in a trail of dust. Her soul was singing with joy. Though she was facing a long journey, alone, she was following her heart. 

Prince Phil beamed. "My little girl's all grown up. Not long ago she would have fallen off. I taught her that trick myself. That reminds me of the time…"

Kerrin developed a big sweatdrop at his temple as he followed the crown prince inside the castle. 

*****

Eventually the sun came up, lighting the beach with the pale colors of the dawn. Lina woke slowly from an interesting dream, something involving Gourry, having fallen asleep in spite of herself. Yawning, she sat up and watched the sleepy sailors preparing breakfast over the campfire. 

Across the clearing with his back to her, Zelgadis was talking to the captain, no doubt planning something without consulting her. She was about to spring to her feet and join them when she noticed Amelia's bracelet, still attached to the canteen the chimera had taken to wearing at his waist. 

The young sorceress was suddenly assaulted by the image of the bracelet's metal ward--glowing, providing the eerie light she had used to find her friend the previous evening. She wanted to ask him about it in the worst way, but, uncharacteristically, she held back. 

__

What is _it with that thing? I've wondered about that ward since the beginning, but I'm still not sure why Amelia gave it to him. Did _she_ put that spell on it, for some reason? Or is it that ancient spell that's supposed to have been put on it by Amelia's ancestors? What's it supposed to _do_, anyway?_

I can barely sense anything from it, now, but something_ made it glow last night! Does Zelgadis know? He didn't say anything about it last night, but he was pretty out of it. He might not have noticed. _The redhead ground her teeth._ It's so frustrating! I can't afford to make a big deal out of this, because if Zelgadis really _doesn't _know what's going on, he'll probably get all embarrassed again, and might even decide not to wear it anymore. And if Amelia gave it to him for a reason…_

She frowned thoughtfully. _As far as I know, it isn't dangerous. Actually, it really saved his butt last night. Maybe I'd better keep my mouth shut for now. _

Again the petite sorceress made as if to rise, only to discover that Gourry had apparently clasped her ankle in his big hand sometime in his sleep. She huffed in annoyance, and started to kick him to wake him up, and to make him release her. 

The look on his face made her pause. The blonde swordsman slept on his back, with a small smile that somehow managed to look peaceful despite everything they had gone through. He had pulled her calf over to his face, resting his cheek against it like a small child with a stuffed animal. The material of her boot had prevented her from feeling his touch, although now, as she drew her leg away from him, she noticed a cool feeling replace the warmth where his skin had touched her.

Lina shivered a little, reminded of something she had noticed the night before, when Gourry had held her back from using her Dragon Slave spell. Both of them had been frozen in shock when the sea dragon had tried to crush Zelgadis in its jaws, and then they had remained standing together in astonishment as the enormous creature simply left of its own accord.

Lina remembered noticing for the first time how rapidly Gourry's heart was beating, as she stood with her back pressed against his chest. With the danger gone, and her mind not yet out of the hyper-sensitive mode, she had detachedly cataloged random things that impacted on her senses: the splashing from the multiple leaks all over the ship, the cool breeze, helping to dry their damp clothes, Gourry's particular male scent, the racing of his heart, the feel of his chest rising and falling against her back, slower than his heartbeat, but more noticeable. 

She'd realized she could feel his breath on her head, stirring her red curls. He was warm, too, she'd noticed, as the wind picked up, blowing a cold gust over her. He was still holding her against him, with his large hands on the front parts of her shoulders. Somehow, she had sensed he was not trying to hold her back, but rather, trying to shield her from harm. 

For the barest instant, Lina had had a desire to lean against him, to let him scoop her up into the safety of his arms, to wrap her arms around his neck and breathe in his scent, to-- It had so surprised the young sorceress that she had barely heard Gourry speak to her at first, marveling over such a weird impulse. She hadn't even bothered to bash him for restraining her, shoving the incident into the back of her mind for later analysis. 

She wasn't going to get the chance now, though, as Zelgadis was approaching her. "Good, you're awake," the chimera said. "Captain Barrig and his men are almost ready to leave." He cocked his stone eyebrow at her. "For a while there I thought something was wrong with you." 

"Wrong with me?" Her mind flashed back to her strange thoughts about Gourry. She also realized that he had been in the dream she'd been having when she woke up. She could feel a guilty, panicky look spread over her face.

"Of course. I expected you to wake up as soon as the chef began cooking breakfast. It's been nearly half an hour now. What happened? Lose your sense of smell?" His smile was playful. "Or do you just have a cold from all that water?"

__

He doesn't know. Relief warred with indignation. As usual, her anger won. "Wake up, Gourry!" she yelled, taking it out on him. It was his fault for making her feel so weird. She grabbed him by the front of the shirt and shook him violently. 

"Wha--what's going on?" He came awake with a start, his eyes rolling wildly. Lina dropped him to the sand with a thump. 

"Get up, lazy! Breakfast's ready."

"It is? Well, why didn't you say so?" He leaped up and made a beeline for the group of sailors gathering around the stewpot. 

"Hey, wait for me!" Lina raced after him, all thoughts except food lifting from her mind.

*****

An hour later, the three friends lined up to say goodbye to Captain Barrig and his men. Zelgadis was a little surprised to realize he would miss the positive interaction. While it was nice to have the camaraderie of close friends, it was refreshing to have the kind of respect the captain had given him--respect without fear. Of course, the captain was a well-traveled man who had seen a lot in his lifetime--a man with stone skin was probably not the strangest thing he had come across. 

The captain held out his hand to the chimera. Surprised, Zelgadis took it, being careful not to grip too hard. As they released each other, the captain asked, "Have ye got any sort of report ye want me to give them back in Seyrune, then?"

Zelgadis paused. "Well, of course you should explain about our change in plans--how we're returning overland, instead of by sea. If nothing goes seriously wrong, we should be back in Seyrune a few days before our deadline." 

He noticed Lina frowning at him. "Maybe sooner," she added. 

Captain Barrig nodded. "Do ye have a message for the princess?"

The unexpected question floored him, even though it was a perfectly logical request. Amelia _had_ commissioned Barrig's ship herself, so she was, in effect, his sponsor. But somehow he could not come up with a single thing to say to her, as his mind filled with images of their last days together. 

Lina stepped up beside him, a naughty gleam in her eye. "Tell Amelia that we're fine, and that we miss her." She nudged the chimera's ribs with her elbow. "_All_ of us. Right, Zel?" 

__

She's getting back at me for teasing her. "Right," he said weakly, not wanting to make an already embarrassing situation even worse by protesting. He was blushing furiously. 

*****

Over the next week, the trio traveled inland rapidly. For the most part, things went smoothly, as they were all experienced travelers. They did have to spend some time hunting food once the last of the ship supplies ran out, but the forest they were traveling through had an abundance of small game, and many sparkling streams in which to catch fish. Zelgadis had heard of a technique used by the people in the outer world called a snare, which would catch food for you while you slept--no magic involved. Needless to say, both of his friends were glad to learn about it.

After a few false starts, the map was turning out to be more accurate than he had dared to hope. As the week progressed, Zelgadis often thought about Amelia without realizing it. He would spot an especially beautiful flower, or an unusual rock formation, and expect her to comment. He would turn to look for her, and then catch himself, remembering that she wasn't there. It never occurred to him that he missed her.

In the latter part of the week, he found himself imagining a reunion scene of sorts:

A slender young (human) male approached the dark-haired princess of Seyrune as she knelt among the bright flowers of a nameless garden, her white gown swirling around her. Hearing his footsteps, she looked up, and broke into that wonderfully welcoming smile of pure joy that always warmed him. Time seemed to slow down as she scrambled up and threw herself into his arms. His imagination always faltered at this point, from a combination of inexperience, guilt, and sheer nervousness. 

Every so often Zelgadis had an unusual dream--instead of his standard Rezo nightmare, or the new 'drowning' one, he would dream about enjoying some kind of sweet desert, or riding an animal through a forest while singing (singing?) a happy tune. When he awoke he would have a vague image of a face or an object; sometimes he would remember no more than a vivid emotion, or a hint of blue. At first he was merely bemused, but soon he grew to treasure these dreams, to look forward to the wonderful feelings of hope and happiness, of the simple joy that came from being alive. 

Emotionally, he had managed to convince himself that _this_ quest, finally, was going to succeed, although rationally he was still skeptical. _Can't let myself get too optimistic._

They spent the last two days climbing a small mountain. On the morning of the sixth day, Zelgadis pulled out the map and checked for landmarks. A steep cliffside, hand-drawn from his memory of the old journal, was within his field of vision. 

"We seem to be on track. According to what I remember, we should arrive at the temple within a few hours." He felt his voice take on an almost jovial note, and did not try to stop it. His cure was finally almost within his grasp, and there had been no sign of that annoying mazoku all week. _Maybe my luck is finally changing._

"Really? That soon?" Lina sounded dismayed. 

"If my memory is correct. Why? Is something wrong?" 

"Uh," she hesitated, then spoke up. "I thought we had at least another couple of days' journey. This is kind of embarrassing, but…I'm not gonna be much help in the magic department for the next day or two." 

It was on the tip of the stone man's tongue to ask why, when he noticed Lina's slight blush and made a connection. He felt his own face turn pink. "That time of the month, huh?" he asked sympathetically. He was struck suddenly with the memory of the phrase 'woman's curse'. "At least yours is temporary…and it means you can have children," he mused aloud. 

Gourry looked stunned. "It does? Lina, are you gonna have a baby?" 

The petite sorceress' face went so red it was practically glowing. "No, you idiot!" she yelled, whacking him upside the head. 

"Well then, what _does _it mean? You never did tell me." Gourry rubbed the spot where she had hit him.

Zelgadis turned away, blushing almost as badly as Lina. He heard Lina clear her throat. "Uh, Gourry…I'll tell you later, okay?"

The blonde swordsman looked from one to the other, clearly bewildered, but thankfully quiet. There was an awkward silence. 

Finally the chimera asked Lina, "Do you want to make camp for a couple of days?" 

The red-haired sorceress hesitated. _It's tempting. If we hadn't lost the ship I'd probably say yes, but…_ "We don't have the time," she decided aloud. 

"Well then," he suggested, "Why don't I just go myself, and meet up with you later?"

Her fighting spirit had been triggered. "No! Maybe I'm not the strongest member of this group at the moment, but I can still watch your back in a fight. Besides, wasn't it you who showed me once that brains are better than brawn?" 

Zelgadis remembered a fight where Lina was being attacked by a flying fish-man who'd been doing strafing runs over her. The stone man had simply held up his sword, and the dim-witted creature had neatly sliced itself in half. 

"All right. We might as well keep moving. We can decide whether to enter the temple when we get there." _If nothing else, I can always suggest we make camp, then slip away in the night. It's not as if I haven't been into hundreds of old temples by myself in the last few years._

*****

The ancient temple, when they found it four hours later, was small and unassuming. As they neared the top of the mountain, they came across a small meadow, nestled between a bank of trees on one side, and a cliff on the other. Gourry was actually the one who spotted it--a vine-covered brick outer wall set into a grassy hillside. 

"Do you think that's it?"

Both Zelgadis and Lina had been expecting something more…grand. They stared at it with twin sweatdrops. "Gee, with a name like the Temple of the Holy Oracle, you'd expect a tower, or a cathedral, or something," Lina commented. 

"Well, at least it doesn't look particularly dangerous." The chimera was looking dubiously at the little pink, white, and lavender flowers growing all around the doorway.

"Come on then, let's go!" Lina said, as usual eager to explore. They began to pull away the foliage covering the door set into the hillside. Surprisingly, it was made of metal. Obsolete text was embedded into it. 

"This is Ancient technology," Lina said in wonder.

"I can't make out what it says. This is probably from before the War of the Monster's Fall." The stone man paused, thinking about the sheer age of the thing in front of him.

"Did someone mention mazoku?" came a familiar voice from behind them. 

"Xellos!"

****

Author's Note: 

I decided Zelgadis and Amelia should be linked mentally partly for True Love fluff and partly because I knew Amelia would need to rejoin the group on the road and she would need a valid reason to leave home. She also needed to be able to locate them fairly easily, seeing as how there's a time limit. 

The link is passive, unless one of them is in danger. No mind-reading, aside from a few merging dreams. Gotta keep some stuff secret from each other, or the story wouldn't work. 

__


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Finally We're Here Now...

**Only Stone on the Outside**

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friend Shell Presto, a wonderfully talented writer/artiste (check out her A/Z story One Third Human) for her invaluable editing commentary. Thanks also to Marie, for being my faithful sounding board and offering ingenious solutions to convoluted plot problems.

Note: A few musical terms you might be confused about:

Soprano--a female voice at the high range of the scale

Alto--a female voice at the lower end (I'm an alto.) 

Tenor--the lightest of the male voices; tenors can often sing higher than altos (that makes me so jealous!) 

Baritone--medium range male voice

Base--think Mufasa on 'The Lion King'--very deep

Falsetto--when a person sings or speaks in a fake, high-pitched voice 

Scale--aw, come on, everybody knows this one! 'Do, ray, me, fa, so, la, ti, do.'. An ascending scale is when you start low and go up, and descending is when you start high and go down.

Octave--every set of eight notes like the scale above is called an octave

Chapter Sixteen: Finally We're Here! 

…Now How Do We Get In?

"Congratulations on managing to find the Temple of the Holy Oracle, even after the tragic loss of your guidebook," the mazoku priest said, smiling away as usual. 

"Why do you always have to show up at the most inconvenient times?" Lina complained. 

"You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?" Zelgadis demanded suspiciously. 

"Of course not. I was as eager as all of you to find this place. You see, over the millennia, certain pieces of information get…lost, or misplaced…such as the location of this temple. Now, shall we enter?" 

Zelgadis growled under his breath. _Short of an all-out battle, there's no way to get rid of the treacherous little spy--especially with Lina's magic being out of commission for the time being. Even _with_ her full powers, it's doubtful that we could manage to destroy him._

"There's no doorknob," Lina pointed out while the chimera was fuming. "Can you read what it says on the door?"

"Hmm…" Xellos stood in front of the door with his index finger touching his chin. "These marks don't seem to be words at all. Perhaps they're in some sort of code. Let me see…" He frowned thoughtfully. 

"If I had my sword, we'd have no problem getting inside." Gourry's voice was uncharacteristically glum. 

"I know how you feel," Lina spoke up unexpectedly. "I hate feeling practically helpless." 

"Oh, you mean because it's your time of the--"

"Gourry!" she screeched, clenching her fists. _It's bad enough that I had to tell Zelgadis. Does _everybody _have to know?_

Xellos merely looked at them with one eyebrow raised, as if taking note of Lina's current state of inability, then went back to contemplating the markings on the door.

Silently, the four of them stood in the meadow, studying the door as the warm breeze swirled around them, playfully tugging at their clothes. It was a lovely day, with birds singing, insects chirping, and the relaxing aroma of sun-warmed grass and flowers all around them. 

Gourry began to get bored. Idly, he reached out to trace his finger in the first groove of the door. As he finished, the sign suddenly began to glow, and a chiming sound was heard. He pulled his hand back. 

The entire door began to glow softly. In the air was an array of delicate musical notes, sounding very similar to those created by tapping a hard object against several glasses filled with water of varying amounts. "Listen!" Gourry said unnecessarily. 

The notes stopped. The door glowed for a few more seconds, as if waiting for something, then faded. "Of course!" Xellos exclaimed. "A musical code! Why didn't I see that before?"

The trio exchanged glances. "So what you're saying is, we produce the right musical notes, and it'll let us in?" Lina said thoughtfully. 

"Looks that way," Zelgadis answered. "The question is, which kind of music do we need to use?" 

All three of them looked at Xellos expectantly. He shrank back, sheepishly putting a hand to the back of his head. A sweatdrop appeared at his temple as he said, "Don't look at _me. _You know most music is anathema to my kind."

__

Figures. A thousand years old, and still useless when it comes to things like this. You can't count on him for anything, Zelgadis thought sourly. 

Lina was applying basic logic to the puzzle. "Well, it's a key, basically. And if it's like most keys, it should be something fairly simple and easy to remember." She turned to Zelgadis. "You're a musician who picks locks--think about it." 

The slender chimera felt a flicker of surprise that Lina knew about his skills, but he was too caught up in the mental puzzle to wonder about it. From his training in picking locks, he knew that Lina was right about keys. And the musician in him was pondering the idea of using notes to make a lock. "Simple music…simple musical notes…basic notes…" he murmured aloud. "Of course. A scale." 

"Scales? Like fish scales, or dragon scales?" Gourry wanted to know. 

The chimera frowned in mild annoyance. "No, Gourry. A music scale! The eight basic notes all music is made up of." Normally his comrade's vacuousness didn't bother him--much--but the day had started off so well, and now it was rapidly going downhill. 

"Ohhh," Gourry said, obviously not understanding, but not particularly caring to make an issue of it.

Lina interrupted before the two men could veer off the subject. "Um, Zel, how are we supposed to produce eight separate notes?" 

"I should think it would be obvious," Xellos interjected with one eyebrow cocked at her, a slight smirk on his lips. 

"You mean…" Lina swallowed hard. "One of us is gonna have to--sing?" She and Zelgadis eyed each other. "Too bad Amelia isn't here. She loves to sing." 

"Hey, I can sing, guys, let _me _do it." Gourry spoke up unexpectedly. 

"You can sing, Gourry?" Lina looked skeptically at her longtime companion.

"Sure I can. I'm a good singer."

After a moment, Zelgadis decided not to get sidetracked into a debate about his comrade's musical competency. "But you don't know what a scale is. Lina--" the chimera began.

"Hey, it's _your _quest, Zel," Lina interrupted with a 'don't look at _me_' hand motion, her palms facing him. 

His shoulders drooped. The stone man sighed, accepting the inevitable. Turning to face the door, he put out one hand, his palm facing the door as if about to cast a spell. Taking a deep breath, he sang an ascending scale, in perfect pitch. His rich, resonant voice almost seemed to echo a little in the surrounding hillside. 

Birds chirped in the silence that followed. _Well, _that _didn't work, _ Zelgadis thought. He covered his face with one hand, discouraged. "I was sure that was right," he mumbled.

"You shoulda let me try." Gourry grumbled.

"Try something else," Lina said encouragingly. "Maybe you need to sing it an octave higher." 

"I'd have to sing it falsetto. Why don't _you _sing it an octave higher?" he retorted. 

The two of them got into a long, boring discussion about the basics of music, completely ignoring Gourry's suggestions. Eventually the blonde swordsman tuned them out, humming idly to himself as he took off one boot to shake out a pebble that had somehow ended up under his heel. Without realizing it, he began to softly sing the same notes his stony friend had just sung, first starting out low and going higher, as Zelgadis had, then automatically singing the same notes in reverse, from high to low. 

Everyone jumped when the door suddenly began glowing brightly. It played several pretty chiming tones with matching patterns of light across the door, then a dazzling white light engulfed it. When the radiance faded away, the travelers saw that somehow the door had vanished as well. 

"What just happened?" Gourry asked, standing up with his boot in one hand. 

"It was you! You figured out the key notes!" Lina's face held a look of amazement. "What did you sing?"

"I think he sang a descending scale," Zelgadis said thoughtfully. "Which would make sense…one scale to open the door, the other to lock it." 

"Excellent work, Gourry!" Xellos patted the taller man's shoulder. "It's amazing what a little luck at the right time and place can do. But now, if you'll excuse me--" Before anyone realized what he was doing, the dark-robed mazoku had lifted off the ground and started to zip through the doorway at top speed. 

"Hey!" Lina began indignantly. 

__

Splat! The eyes of the three comrades bulged in surprise. Xellos looked as if he had smashed face first into a solid wall, all flat and stretched-out like a pancake. "Oww…" he whined. 

"What happened?" Gourry asked, watching the mazoku slide slowly to the ground and pop back into normal shape. 

"This temple is protected against invasion by mazoku, apparently," Xellos answered, standing up and rubbing his nose. "Some of the oldest temples have very powerful levels of holy magic, unlike today. Back then, there were a lot of priestesses who could call on Cephied herself."

__

Amelia mentioned something about that once. She said the shrine maidens of today are just shells of what they used to be, Zelgadis recalled thoughtfully, watching Gourry put his boot back on. _But that was before the Barrier came down. Things might be different now._

"I guess I'll just have to wait for you all out here." Xellos' smile seemed a little forced. 

"Just what were you planning to do in there, anyway?" Lina's ruby eyes narrowed. 

"Well, you know…that _is_ a secret." He vanished.

"Xellos!" Lina huffed, annoyed. "Oh, well. At least he can't spy on us in there. Come on, let's go." The diminutive sorceress walked unmolested through the doorway, proving that the invisible barrier did not keep out human workers of black magic. The two men followed. She cast a small light spell as she entered, glad that that was one spell she could still achieve, even in her current weakened state.

The corridor ahead was the typical large-bricked tunnel, although its age was not apparent, as there seemed to be no dampness, no slowly rotting cloth decorations or animal carcasses. Cautiously the explorers went forward, their boots clomping on the stone floor. 

Thirty minutes later they were still walking, as the tunnel seemed to have no end. "Just how big is this place, anyway?" Lina complained. 

"You notice that the passageway has been sloping downward." Zelgadis pointed out. "It's gradual, but I think we've been heading underground for a while now." 

Gourry began humming variations on the scale he had heard earlier. The other two glanced at him, but did not protest, as there seemed to be no real reason to keep quiet. Lina was surprised to realize that her longtime companion had a nice voice--a baritone, but lighter than Zelgadis', verging on the tenor range. _He doesn't sound half bad. _She wondered what he would sound like if he were to sing a real song. 

At the same moment, both Lina and Zelgadis realized that there was a second voice humming along with Gourry, matching him perfectly. "Who's there?" they both said simultaneously. 

Gourry stopped humming, but the other voice continued. Lina drew her sword. "Show yourself!" she demanded. 

On the wall beside them, a face materialized. It was green, with rather sharp, pointed features, vaguely elven in appearance. Its eyes opened. "Welcome to the Temple of the holy Golden Oracle," it said in a high-pitched male voice. "I am the Gatekeeper. Please state your reason for being." 

"Well, we're here because--" Lina began, but the face interrupted her rudely. 

"No, not your reason for being _here, _your reason for being!" 

She blinked. "Why?"

"Because this is an oracular temple, idiot," the visage sneered. "You can't just walk right in. There have to be questions to screen out the riffraff!"

The chimera's lips curved in a small smile. "He's got a point there." He couldn't resist teasing his red-haired companion. "If I were an oracle, I wouldn't want to be bothered by a lot of stupid questions, either." She glared at him, then sighed in resignation.

"Fine. What's my reason for being? Well, it's…" The petite sorceress paused. "I…" Her mouth closed, and a thoughtful look crossed her face. "That's a pretty deep question." 

Zelgadis didn't even try to answer yet. Both of them stood there with frowns, trying to decide how to answer in an suitable way that would gain them access to the Oracle. 

Gourry looked from one to the other. "Why do you guys look so serious? It's easy--we help people, and hopefully get paid for it." 

A small bell-tone was heard. "Acceptable," the Gatekeeper sighed, looking annoyed at their success. "Not quite the ideal answer, but believable." 

Lina was astonished. _"That's _acceptable?"

"Yes. Humans are such liars--they'll say anything to get in. That, at least, was an honest answer."

"Huh," the redhead commented, nonplussed.

Both Zelgadis and Lina wondered if Gourry's answer applied to them. True, in the past they'd done many things to benefit others, but more because it was necessary, than because they wanted to. The chimera mused, _maybe that doesn't matter to the Oracle, as long as the people who need help receive it. _

It's just luck that sometimes the things that need doing also happen to have large rewards involved, Lina thought. 

The green Gatekeeper asked, "So which of you needs to see the Oracle?" 

"Well, we all want to see it, but technically, it's Zelgadis' quest." Lina spoke up. She had decided honesty was the wisest choice. 

"Then you go forward." The face turned a disdainful look on Lina and Gourry. "The rest of you rabble have to go back and wait outside." The Gatekeeper's high-and-mighty attitude triggered Lina's temper. 

"Hey, stoneface! No offense, Zel." Lina threw an apologetic glance at her stony comrade. "Suppose I don't _feel_ like waiting outside?" she challenged him. 

Offended, the Gatekeeper spluttered, "If you're going to be like that, you can just _try_ to get past the temple's defenses, wench!" He faded out.

"Hey, come back here! I'm not done insulting you yet!" Lina shouted petulantly. "Boy, what a jerk. Oh, well. Let's go, guys." 

"Um, Lina, where'd Zelgadis go?" 

"Huh?" She whipped her head this way and that, her red hair swirling around her. "He's vanished! He's probably gone on ahead of us. Come on, Gourry, we've got to catch up with him!" 

They began heading down the passageway. Almost immediately, the two adventurers discovered what Mister Wall had meant by 'defenses'. The ground shook. Above them, the ceiling of the tunnel was suddenly covered with stalactites. They traded panicked glances.

"Uh-oh."

"Run for it!" 

The two of them took off as if the Lord of Chaos herself was after them. Huge columns of stone began smashing to the ground all around them. Gourry let out a yelp as one of them went through his flowing blonde hair, tugging at it as he passed. 

"I wish we had your sword!" Lina yelled to him, beginning to pant. "It could cut--through this stone--like butter!"

"Look out!" Gourry shoved her to the side. She hit the ground hard enough to bruise both knees, as a stalactite impaled itself into the ground where she'd been running. "_I _wish you had your magic. You could just blast all these things." 

Biting her lip at the pain, she answered, "Not really." She forced herself to get to her feet, and they began running again, Lina limping a bit. "Any spell strong enough to destroy them would probably collapse the tunnel." 

Not long after that, Gourry called out, "There's the exit!" just as a truly colossal column of stone crashed sideways across the passage, blocking off the path to the doorway. 

Even without sore knees, I'd never be able to jump that! The red-haired girl thought in despair. Without even pausing, Gourry scooped the tiny sorceress into his arms and took a running leap. Lina clutched him around the neck as they rose high into the air, their hair flying out behind them, red and gold, up, up, and over the pile of rock and through the doorway. 

The swordsman landed in a crouch, holding the young girl in his lap. For several moments, neither of them moved, gulping air greedily. Finally Gourry stood up, still cradling Lina in his arms. She rested her head against his neck, her eyes closed. 

Suddenly she stiffened, and pulled her arms from around his neck. "Put me down!"

He complied. Lina faced away from him, trying to hide her blush. "Well, I guess we can't go back that way." She turned and began walking stiffly down the corridor, wincing at the pain in her knees. She tried to stop thinking about how it had felt to be in his arms. 

"So you passed the physical threat, did you? I thought you might." Mister Stoneface's sneering voice echoed around them. "I suppose we should move on to the next challenge--the mental riddles. I love those!" 

"M-mental?" Lina looked nervously at her companion. _Gourry's great for physical dangers, but in a mental battle he's a liability. How am I going to get out of this? _

She had an idea. Deliberately assuming a sassy pose, she scoffed, "Oh, please. Not another one of those boring contests where an omnipotent figure asks the poor hapless questers an impossible question, and if they don't answer within a set time limit, they're doomed. Am I right?" 

"Well--yes," the Gatekeeper sounded a bit taken aback.

Lina let a note of long-suffering enter her voice. "You'd think an oracle's doorman would be more original." 

"I am _not _a doorman!" The Gatekeeper's high-pitched voice became even more shrill. "And if _you're_ so smart, what kind of challenge would _you_ establish?"

__

Gotcha. The red-haired sorceress put one hand on her hip, closed one eye, and held up the index finger of her other hand. "Suppose _we _ask _you _questions? And if we come up with one you can't answer, we win." 

"There _is _no question I can't answer," the voice said pompously. "Very well--begin."

*********************** 

Author's Note: In the last chapter Lina mentions Ancient technology. I figure that would include anything that was created before the War of the Mazoku's Fall. It would have to be something to be in awe of, just because it survived for so long, and it would probably still be powerful, since it was created in the time before the Barrier that, in my fic at least, weakened the strength of White magic.


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Answer That Question...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

Note: I got the explanation for dragonfire from a great cartoon movie called The Flight of Dragons, based on a book by Peter Dickinson. 

Chapter Seventeen: Answer That Question! 

Zelgadis meets the Oracle 

As a test question, Lina asked, "Why is the sky blue?" _I remember asking this when I was a kid. Everyone had a different answer._

The Gatekeeper launched into a long, complicated explanation, using words like 'particles' and 'wavelengths' and 'refraction' and 'color spectrum'. The red-haired sorceress listened to the long-winded explanation in amazement, her mouth dropping open practically to her sore knees.

"Next question," he said snootily. 

"Hey, I couldn't understand half of that!" Lina protested.

"Too bad. You said 'questions I couldn't answer', not 'answers you could understand'." 

"Why you--" Lina growled, furious. Her hands opened and closed as if on a nonexistent throat. Gourry gave her an uneasy glance, and backed away. _If I had my magic I'd fireball this jerk! _She decided to switch tactics. "Fine, then. Where--"

"How do dragons breathe fire without burning themselves?" Gourry interrupted unexpectedly.

The hot-tempered sorceress clenched her fist to sock him for interrupting her, but paused in spite of herself, as she realized she was interested in hearing the response.

"The 'fire' is actually a flammable gas. It is ignited with a small electrical jolt from a thimble-sized nub in the roof of a dragon's mouth. The mouth is specially insulated against heat."

"Hmm." _That could be useful to know. But now to ask about some really important stuff. _"Okay, where--"

Again Gourry interrupted her, his light-blue eyes alight with curiosity. "What color is a floozle?"

"A what?" The Gatekeeper's voice sounded flustered. "There's no such thing."

"Yes, there is. I heard a mother telling her kid once how floozles are the prettiest creatures in the world. She said their fur is so soft and colorful that they hide a lot, because people want to catch them for the fur. So I was wondering what color it is," Gourry explained.

"I tell you, there is no such thing as a floozle. The woman was simply making up a story for her child."

"Oh." Gourry looked disappointed.

__

Boy, what a dummy. Lina was smirking at her friend's gullibility, when something occurred to her. "Hey, that means we won."

"What?"

"Gourry asked a question you can't answer. That means we've won."

The voice protested, "But--but there _is _no answer. The creature in question doesn't exist. It's a nonsensical query!"

"I said, 'we'd ask questions', not that they'd make sense." Lina imitated the way the Gatekeeper had quoted her own words back at her earlier, an impish grin on her face. 

"Arrgh!" The Gatekeeper's howl of frustration echoed up and down the corridor, slowly fading away.

Gourry turned to Lina with a big smile on his face. "Hey, we beat him! _Ow!"_ he added as she leaped up and grabbed him in a headlock, ignoring the twinges from her knees. "Hey, what gives?"

"You moron, I was just about to ask it where the locations of the best bandits' treasure troves were!"

Gourry squirmed and groaned in pain. "Ahhh, I'm sorry, Lina!"

"Don't ever interrupt me like that again!" She gave him a final wrench, then released him. He straightened up, rubbing his neck. 

"Well, at least we won," he repeated, half apologetically, half sullenly. 

They began walking down the corridor. Lina looked up at her closest friend. _He's really been a big help today, _she thought,remembering his unanticipated singing skill, and his aid in escaping from the stalactites. She noted his uncharacteristic frown. 

Something inside her made her reach out and catch hold of his large hand in her own small one. "Anyway, Gourry, you did a good job." She gave his hand an affectionate squeeze to show him there were no hard feelings. 

Gourry stopped walking and looked down at their clasped hands, a look of surprise on his face. Lina suddenly realized what she was doing. Just as he moved his gaze from their hands up to her face, she released his hand and started walking ahead of him. After a moment, Gourry shrugged and followed her, but his usual sunny smile had returned. 

*****

Zelgadis, meanwhile, had been magically transported away. He materialized in front of a pair of beautiful old metal doors, carved with the same ancient text as the outer doors. _Do I have to sing again? _He put out a hand and touched the smooth surface. To his surprise, it gave out an odd humming noise, which changed its tone as he slid his hand to the side. _Some kind of instrument? _Just to check, he slid his hand up, then down, and sure enough, the hum changed pitch to match his hand movements. 

__

Too bad the outer door wasn't like this. Or was it? The chimera repeated his previous opening-scale, and was gratified the see the door vanish in front of him as the outer door had. _At least _something's _going right on this trip. _

The inner room was empty except for a marble pedestal in the center, with a large, softly glowing silver globe resting upon it. _Is that the Oracle? _Slowly he walked toward the pedestal. The only light in the room came from the sphere, making the chimera's skin and clothing take on a ghostly pale cast. The stone man reached out a hand to touch the orb. 

Suddenly the sphere's glow changed to a hostile dark green. "Hands off, buddy!" 

Zelgadis jerked his hand back, his teal eyes wide. "Who's there?" 

"Who do ya think?"

"The Oracle?"

"You got it. Now whadda ya want?" The ancient instrument of prophesy sounded like a worldly-wise middle-aged woman. The sphere's color faded to a more neutral bluish tone. 

Zelgadis raised an eyebrow thoughtfully at this unexpectedly dynamic personality. "My name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. I'm on a quest. I'm searching for a way to turn my body back to normal." 

"Normal? What's wrong with the one ya got now? It's a fine body." 

His composure went right out the window. Frustrated, he retorted, "Fine for a chimera--but I'm human!" 

"Oh, y'are, huh?" The orb's glow became curious--a lavender shade. "C'mere. Put yer hand on the sphere." 

He did so. The globe began glowing, and a vast array of colors rippled across its surface. Zelgadis had time to wonder how he understood the emotion-colors the Oracle used. 

"Zelgadis Greywyrs…hey, you've had a pretty interesting life so far," she commented.

A wry half-smile appeared on the chimera's face. "You could put it that way." 

"All right, ya can let go now." Zelgadis removed his hand from the shimmering globe, which faded back to blue, but kept a hint of the lavender. 

"Okay, Zel,"--he noted the Oracle's use of Lina's nickname for him--"I got a question for ya. Why are ya askin' _me_ for a cure when ya already _got_ all the components within yer reach?"

"I--_what?" _ he exclaimed, utterly flabbergasted. 

"Ya already _found _a shrine maiden of pure heart willing ta love ya. And that ol' rogue Xellos is right outside my temple." 

"Xellos? And--_what?"_ It seemed to be his fate to stand in a dimly-lit stone room repeating 'what?' to a large glowing ball on a pedestal.

"Don't tell me ya didn't notice! That's just like a man. What's she gotta do, hit ya over the head?" A pale orange glow of irritation surrounded the sphere. 

Zelgadis tried to gather together his scattered wits. He protested, "But that's impossible. No one could love a freak like me."

The orb changed to an odd mixture of oranges and blues. A sigh was heard. _I wonder how an inanimate object can sigh, _Zelgadis mused dizzily, still reeling from the mind-blowing news. 

"Lemme tell ya a story." The chimera blinked in surprise at the now light-blue orb. "A long long time ago there was this young mage who was head-over-heels in love with a beautiful, headstrong, fiery-tempered princess of Seyrune. Matter a' fact, she was a lot like yer friend, Lina, except she'd been trained in white magic, as a shrine maiden. Unfortunately, he had a rival--a powerful, unscrupulous mage who eventually challenged him ta a duel. Needless ta say, he lost--the guy turned him inta a chimera. The thing is, on the very same day, the winning mage, overconfident, tried ta slay himself a dragon ta win the princess' heart, and got himself roasted. 

"So the young mage was stuck as a chimera, since the jerk who cursed him took the secret of the cure ta his grave. The poor guy was heartbroken, figuring there was no way the princess was ever gonna fall for someone who looked like him. But she surprised him, openly declaring her love before him, and her parents. Now, the king and queen weren't crazy about the whole thing, but like I said before, the princess was a _very_ headstrong girl, the youngest of nine siblings, and used ta getting her own way. Eventually they gave in--after all, with eight older brothers and sisters it wasn't likely that she'd ever be needed ta be Queen. 

"So the young mage set out on a quest for a cure. After many years, many hopes and dreams and disappointments, battles and retreats and magical adventures, good ol' Gaderi ended up here, standing right where ya are now." 

"Gaderi? The man who wrote the journal that led me here?" 

"None other. And I'm gonna ask ya the same question I asked him: Why do ya _really_ wanna be cured?" The sphere had no hint of lavender in the blue.

Zelgadis crossed his arms defensively. "What do you mean, why? You just read my mind." Listening to the story had allowed the young man to organize his thoughts somewhat. "I'm hideous."

"Oh, _I_ see. Vanity."

The chimera's jaw dropped, eyes bulging with indignation. "What? No, that's not it! I just want to have a normal life."

The Oracle laughed, pulsing pink with each chuckle. "Honey, a normal life's not all it's cracked up ta be! Do ya realize that neither you nor your friends would be alive right now if not for that body ya hate so much?" 

His narrow shoulders slumped. "I know. That much, Rezo did for me. I am grateful, to that extent." His mind filled with images from past battles, of taking blows that would have killed his friends, of using his superhuman senses and reflexes. The stone man shivered, and shook his head. "I know I'll be giving up a lot, but no one ever said it would be easy. So are you going to help me or not?" he asked quietly. "I mean, look at what happened to Gaderi. He spent five years of his life being persecuted, running for his life from demon hunters."

"Oh, yeah, he was persecuted, but he managed ta help a lotta people in his travels, bettering their lives in ways that, to him, were insignificant, hardly worth mentioning. Ya see, like most people, he saw himself very differently than the way others saw him. He was actually known as a _saint_ in quite a few of the villages he passed through." Enthusiastic approval colored the globe a pretty shade of pink, reminding Zelgadis of something important…but he couldn't put his mental finger on it. 

The stone man was silent for a long time, mulling over what the Oracle had said. "Are you saying I'd be better off as a chimera?" he asked quietly.

"I didn't say that--ya gotta look at yer other options, is all." 

"Options?" he asked with wide eyes. 

"Yeah, I can give ya the spell ya _want, _but is it the one ya _need?"_

*****

Lina was screaming in horror. "No, no, take them away! Take the slugs away!" She was cowering on top of a large rock, all alone, with a sea of slimy, disgusting slugs crawling lazily around its base. "Oh, somebody please help me!" she squealed, covering her face with her hands. _Where's Gourry when I need him?_

*

Her blonde companion was walking in a large, empty space filled with gray fog. "Lina? Where are you?" he called. He couldn't figure out how he had gotten here. One minute he'd been walking with Lina down a stone corridor, the next he was here, searching fruitlessly for his small red-haired friend. _She must've gotten lost. I'd better find her before she gets into trouble._ It didn't occur to him that he might be the one who was lost.

*

__

"How do you like the slugs, little sister?" A ghostly voice echoed in Lina's mind. 

If she'd been scared before, she was petrified now. _"Luna?" _she gasped, her red hair sticking up in all directions as if she'd just received an electric Mono Bolt. Suddenly the slugs were only somewhat squishy carpeting that smushed under Lina's feet as the tiny sorceress leaped off the rock and began running through the fog, trying to get away from…her. 

__

"Oh, no, you don't. Get back here this instant, Lina Inverse." Her sister's voice held the promise of severe menace, masked by the 'helpful concern' for her welfare that had fooled their parents when they were little. 

"Oh, please, no." Lina whimpered as she lunged forward, slipping on slug guts and nearly falling. In an incredible feat of agility, she stayed on her feet and kept moving. _Gotta hide, gotta hide, gotta hide…_

*

"Linaaa! Where are you?" Gourry called. A woman's scream came from far in the distance. His head whipped around toward the sound. "Lina?" He took off running in the direction the scream had come from.

It came again. "Hold on, Lina, I'm coming!" The swordsman ran for what seemed like hours. Lina's voice was getting weaker. He increased his speed, his lungs burning for air, trying to get there before whatever was hurting her could…

A figure appeared in the distance through the dense fog. Drawing closer, Gourry could make out some kind of hideous beast, leaning over a small shape huddled on the ground. As he approached, the beast retreated, giving him a clear view of the person lying crumpled on the nonexistent ground. It was Lina. 

********************

Author's Note: I love writing Lina-and-Gourry bits--it's somehow easier to put a lot more humor in. That also makes the dramatic scenes even more dramatic, since they're not very serious characters most of the time.

BTW, I got the voice for the Oracle from a Hey Arnold TV episode (one of the few Nickelodeon shows that interests me), from the episode where Helga Pataki goes to see a fortune teller who sounds like a Brooklyn housewife. I love her voice--no-nonsense, but kindly.

I figure her sister Luna used a lot of mental--and perhaps physical--manipulation on Lina. Sort of like brainwashing. Perhaps Luna was trying to toughen Lina up, knowing that Lina had almost as much magic power as she did and needed to be able to control it. If so, she succeeded, but her methods must have been somewhat…unorthodox, not to mention cruel, judging by how much Lina feared her in the anime. 

__ __


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Confessions

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie! 

Chapter Eighteen: Confessions

Lina was hiding in a dark room, scrunching herself up into the smallest ball possible, as she used to when she was little. _How did I get here? _she thought in alarm. She tensed as she heard footsteps--and a horribly familiar voice. _"Where are you, little sister? Liiinaaa…"_

Lina trembled, trying to control the surges of rage/dread that made her want to bolt. Or to fight. _I can't move. Luna's stronger than me. If she catches me I'd…_

__

"There _you are!" _

Lina shrieked and tried to escape, but was brought up short by her sister's hand clamped painfully on her shoulder. _"What are you doing, hiding from me? You didn't do the work you promised that you would, and now you're trying to get out of your punishment as well. I'm afraid I'm going to have to come up with a more severe penalty for such disobedience."_

Lina felt herself dragged backwards, with the scenery swirling around her, and turned to see a familiar room--her family's basement. She blinked. On the worktable in the center of the room was a familiar person, someone who should not have been there…"Gourry!" she yelped. He was unconscious, tied down to the table with heavy ropes. _What is he doing here? _

Her worst fears were confirmed when her sister stepped in front of her, her eyes under shadowed bangs so that Lina could only see her mouth curving in a cruel smile. _"If punishing _you_ won't work, maybe watching one of your little friends get punished will."_

"No…" Lina whimpered. _Gourry…_She wanted to save him--to take her sword and cut the ropes and get him as far away from her sister as possible._ But I can't fight her. She's stronger than me…_

*

Gourry crouched over the unmoving body of his friend, as he gulped air in great gasps. _Oh, no, is she…?_ He lifted her into his arms, cradling her body against him as he looked to see if she was breathing. 

Her eyes fluttered open. "Ah…" she groaned. "Gourry?" 

He stared down at her, his blonde hair straggling over his eye. "Yeah," he answered, immensely relieved that she was alive.

"You…bastard," she cursed, shocking him.

"Lina?" His eyes were wide with astonishment. In spite of all the name-calling she did, Lina had never called him something like that. 

She drew in a shaky breath. "Where were you when I needed you?" 

"Huh? I chased off the monster, Lina; he's gone now. Are you hurt?"

"Moron." Her ruby eyes turned away from him. "I'm dying." 

*

The tall, shadowy form behind Lina began, _"You've been a bad girl, Lina. " _The figure of her sister began to move forward, past Lina. 

"No!" The word surprised Lina more than it did her sister.

"No?" The Luna-image paused. _"Why, sister dear, whatever is the matter? You know this is your own fault. If you'd been a more obedient girl this wouldn't have to happen. Besides, you can heal any damage that occurs during this little demonstration. Or I can, if you prefer." _

Lina was trembling all over from repressed rage and fear. "I _forbid _you to lay a single finger on Gourry." Her voice was hoarse with terror. 

__

"You forbid _me? I think not, little sister. I believe it's about time I put you in your place, and reminded you just who the more powerful Inverse sister is! Bram Gush!" _Lina was thrown back by a huge gust of wind, cracking her head against the wall. Her vision grayed, and she passed out. 

*

__

"What?" Gourry panicked, looking up and down the length of her body. "You don't look hurt, Lina, are you sure?"

"Dimwit!" she cried, and began coughing. He held her until the spasms passed. "That was a soul-sucker. It…eats the life-force of its victims."

"But you're still alive. I can find Zelgadis and he can heal you--"

"Too late. It already took…most of my life force. I…I'd rather die than live as a shadow." Her voice faded to a whisper at the end. 

"No!" Gourry stood up, still holding her, ready to start searching for the chimera.

"Gourry," Lina's broken voice stopped him. "After all…we've been through together, after all the times…you came through for me……why didn't you save me this time?" 

He looked down at her in shock. Up until now she had been looking away from him, but now she looked up at him, and he recoiled from the malicious hate in her eyes. "You promised to protect me. You lied. You lied!" She started coughing, hacking as if her lungs would burst. A trickle of blood came from the corner of her mouth. 

"Lina…" He couldn't think, couldn't defend himself.

"Damn you, Gourry Gabriev…damn you!" Her head flung back, her body spasming, jerking, and finally going limp, her head and limbs dangling heavily. 

"Lina? Lina! You can't die, Lina, you can't!" He dropped to the ground, hugging her lifeless body to his chest. Tears began to slide down his cheeks as he rocked her back and forth. 

*

Lina was awakened by the sound of a scream of pain. Gourry's scream. She opened one eye, wincing at the shaft of pain that lanced through her skull. Luna had been busy. Except for the top half of his trousers, most of Gourry's clothes had been torn off of him, and his skin was a mass of bruises, cuts and burns. Most of his beautiful long golden hair was gone, leaving just a shaggy, blood-streaked mess. 

__

Oh, gods. What did she do_ to him? Has she gone crazy? She was strict, but never _this _vicious before. _A dark silhouette in a swirling skirt stood in front of Lina, blocking her view of Gourry.

__

"Now then, Gourry, hold still…"

"No--please--" her longtime companion moaned.

The sound of Gourry's pleading voice struck her like a lightning spell. Lina Inverse was filled with a righteous fury that burned away any lingering fear of her sister. She leaped to her feet, her eyes ablaze. "Hold it right there, Luna!"

__

"What?" Her sister turned, surprised.

"I may have let you torture me when we were kids, but this is the last straw. I'm gonna stop you if it kills me!" Lina snarled, her heart pounding rapidly, every nerve tingling. 

Her sister laughed. _"I'd like to see you try." _

A sudden idea occurred to Lina. She turned to look at the wooden stairs leading up to the rest of the house. Her sister quailed. _"No--you wouldn't--"_

Lina smiled grimly. "Oh, wouldn't I?" She lifted her voice in a little girl's call. "Oh Mommy, Daddy, could you come down here for a minute? Luna wants to show you the project she's been working on." 

There was the sound of footsteps from the room above._ "Nooo!" _Luna howled, and fled out through the back door. 

"Never mind!" Lina called out, and the approaching footsteps faded away. She immediately pulled out her knife from her belt and began freeing comrade's hands and feet, an evil chuckle emerging from her lips. _I should have done something like that a long time ago. _She felt suddenly pounds lighter, with a great weight lifted from her. 

"Lina." Gourry made an effort to sit up, wincing from the pain of his wounds.

"Don't try to get up yet, Gourry." Suddenly Lina was focused on him, looking at his bruised face and blackened eyes, framed by the ragged yellow hair. She held out a hand covered in soothing white light, holding it over his chest, healing his poor battered body. After a few minutes she said quietly, "I'm so sorry, Gourry. If I had known my sister was going to--"

"Your sister?" Despite his obvious pain, he looked startled. 

"Yeah. I'm not proud of the relationship." Lina was busy healing the last of the cuts. 

"Hey, Lina?" It was strange to see him looking up at her. "If that was your sister, how come…I mean, the last time Filia gave you a letter your sister sent you, you totally freaked out. I remember, 'cause I've never seen you so scared. Weren't you afraid this time?" 

"Well, of course I was," Lina focused on a big bruise on one side of his neck. _One good thing about this short hair; it's not getting in the way of my healing._

"Really? You didn't look like it. How come?" 

"I was more afraid of losing you than of fighting her." _Nearly finished now. _

"You were?" 

His surprised reply made her realize what she'd said. Her eyes widened. The diminutive sorceress flushed, laughing in embarrassment, putting her hand behind her head, but somehow unwilling to retract her words.

"But--but she's the only person in the whole world you're afraid of!" Gourry protested, getting up onto his elbows. "And it's not like you really like me or anything. I mean, you're always hitting me, and calling me names like 'jellyfish brains', and 'moron', and--"

"I love you, you idiot!" Lina's eyes bulged, and she clapped a hand over her mouth, unable to believe what she had said. _Where did _that _come from?_

"You do?" Gourry looked as shocked as she felt. As they stared at one another, he ducked his head, smiling bashfully. "Do you really mean that, Lina?" His sky blue eyes looked into hers. She was astonished to see that they were full of hope.

"Gourry…" The look in his eyes melted her inside. At that moment, she was not the bold bandit killer of legend…she was simply a young girl in love. Slowly, hesitantly, she smiled at him. "Yeah, Gourry. I meant it." 

*

"You can't die, Lina, I need you! Remember when that Lord of Bad Dreams thingy tried to take you away from me? I didn't let you go then, did I? I didn't let you down. I didn't…" 

He was haunted by her words, by the fierce hatred that had been in her eyes when she looked at him. "I'm sorry, Lina! I didn't mean to fail you. Please don't leave me…I need you……I…I love you." The conversation he'd had with Zelgadis after Lina was hurt while fighting the sea dragon suddenly came back to him. He realized that those were the very words he had been searching for the first time Lina had been almost taken away from him into the sky. "I love you, Lina, please don't leave me!" 

*

"I love you, Gourry." 

"Lina!" Gourry opened his eyes to see that he was holding the red-haired sorceress against him as they stood together in a dimly-lit stone corridor. 

"Gourry?" She looked up at him in surprise. _Wait a minute…what's going on here? One minute I'm at home fighting my sister, and the next--_

"Lina, you're alive!" The look on his face was so joyously glad to see her that she didn't resist as he tightened his embrace until she nearly suffocated, although her instinct was to shove him away from her. "I'm sorry, Lina, I swear I'll never let anything happen to you again," he babbled. 

The petite sorceress' arms twitched feebly from their unnaturally crumpled positions. _Can't…breathe…_

"Oh, good job!" An annoyingly familiar voice came from beside them. Gourry loosened his hug. Lina sagged against him, gratefully gulping air. The two of them turned to look at the wall, where the green face of the Gatekeeper had appeared. "A most _fascinating_ study of sibling psychology. And the unacknowledged romantic feelings between the two of you were priceless!"

Lina and Gourry looked at each other, realizing their faces were mere inches apart. Both of them began blushing like crazy, jerking away as if the other person were on fire. "Wait a minute. You mean what just happened _wasn't real?" _Lina demanded. 

"It wasn't?" Gourry looked astonished. 

"That's right. This is my favorite of the temple defenses. I helped design it myself. It forces you to face your deepest fears. Psychological warfare--ah-ha-ha! Some people go mad. Sooo…are you ready to admit defeat and leave on your own, or shall I begin the next--ack!" The smug face showed an instant of shock before it vanished--just as Lina's thrown dagger embedded itself into the stone wall. 

Ruby eyes looked into light blue ones. Simultaneously they turned away from each other, blushing, each trying to figure out what was real and what was not. After a few moments Gourry asked, "Um, Lina?"

"Yeah, Gourry?" She avoided his eyes. 

"You don't hate me, do you?"

She was so astonished at such an unexpected question that she looked him full in the face, her eyes wide, embarrassment forgotten. "Of course I don't!"

He looked relieved. "That's good. You see, you were dying. That was bad enough, but I don't think I could stand it if you hated me, too."

"Your worst fears are of losing me and having me hate you?" The petite sorceress repeated softly. 

"I guess so. So what did you dream about?" 

"I--I don't want to talk about it." It had suddenly occurred to her that she had not been victorious over her sister in real life. _Not to_ _mention that Gourry and I told each other… _

"Um, okay…but do you mind if I ask a question?" 

"What?"

"Did you mean what you said when we woke up?" 

"What--I--oh." She looked down at the floor, remembering. _Oh, geez. I _did _say it out loud._

"I sure hope so," he added, making her look up at him again. The look on his face was almost identical to the one he had worn in her vision--shy, hopeful, smiling a little. "'Cause I love you, Lina. I think I have for a long time." 

Everything seemed to stop. "Really? You do?" The young sorceress suddenly felt as shy and insecure as…as Sylphiel always acted whenever she was around Gourry. She could feel herself blushing. 

His smile deepened, his eyes pulling her in, making her knees go wobbly, and her stomach feel funny. "Yeah." 

"Oh, Gourry," she said softly, her eyes a-shimmer. 

When he stepped toward her she tensed, ready to deck him if he tried to grab her, but he only touched her face, gently cupping her cheek. "Lina," he said softly, looking at her as if she were the most precious gem in the world.

Her skin tingled in a way it never had in the past when they'd touched. Her breath came faster, as if she were entering a dangerous situation. Her palms would have been sweaty if not for her gloves. "I…love you too, Gourry," she whispered, finally admitting it to herself as much as to him. 

For the moment, she forgot about the Oracle, about Zelgadis, about their quest, thinking only of Gourry and the precious gift he was offering her. Standing on her toes, she lifted her face toward his.

When he kissed her, the world changed. A yearning she had never acknowledged before was suddenly soothed, fulfilled. Vaguely, she sensed that she had been in a similar situation before, but the thought flitted past her too quickly to grasp it. For the moment, Lina Inverse abandoned herself to the kiss, and to Gourry, the most important person in the world to her.

When her blonde comrade lifted his head, Lina looked at him in wonder, feeling his steadying hands on her back. _How could I have fooled myself into thinking that he was just a traveling buddy? He's been my constant companion for all these years, always ready to help me out, no matter who I had to face. He followed me into Chaos itself to bring me back. _Her ruby eyes softened as she smiled up at him tenderly. _Maybe he's not so bright…but his heart shines brighter than the Sword of Light ever did. _

"Gourry…" she murmured softly, "You've always been there for me. And…I can't imagine my life without you." She loved the sight of his smile--he was so beautiful. 

"Me, either. Zelgadis was right," he commented, still giving her that wonderfully gentle smile. 

It took her a moment to process his words. She blinked, pulling out of his embrace. "Zelgadis _knew?" The guy doesn't realize Amelia's in love with him, but he talked to Gourry about _this?

"Yeah. He said we were…um…companions for life, or something like that." Gourry scratched the back of his head. Shyly, he asked, "That's all right, isn't it?" A bit uncertainly, his sky blue eyes found hers. 

She softened, a tiny smile appearing on her lips. _Companions for life. _When you put it that way, it didn't sound nearly as scary. After all, they'd already been companions for--what, three years? And she'd known, deep down, that he really cared for her. _Which reminds me…if we want to _stay _lifelong companions, we've gotta get out of here. _"Come on, Gourry," she said, grabbing his hand and towing him after her. 

"Where are we going?" His long hair swished as he followed her. 

"Where else? To find that obnoxious little goblin and make him pay for torturing us." 

Gourry gulped. He was glad that for once, Lina wasn't mad at him.

*****************

****

Author's Notes: I was going to have Lina battle Luna, but that's too predictable. So I thought, 'There's got to be _something_ Luna's afraid of'. 

I hope it wasn't too confusing to be switching back and forth between two scenarios. I needed them to finish at the same time.

Yay! They've finally admitted their feelings! So will everything be hunky-dory from now on? Are ya kidding? This is Lina Inverse we're talking about here! 

Does anybody think Gourry's out of character? I'm having the hardest time deciding what sort of past he might have had with women. The books make him sound a little smarter and less clueless, so I'm guessing he's had SOME kind of experience, but as for how much… 


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Surprises! The Oracl...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

Note: The name Gaderi is pronounced GAH-der-ee

****

Chapter Nineteen: Surprises! The Oracle Reveals All

"…I can give ya the spell ya _want_, but is it the one ya _need?_…"

The Oracle's voice echoed in the chimera's mind. "Is there a difference?" he asked after a long pause for thought.

The Oracle explained, "Ya want ta be human again so badly that ya never even let yerself consider the benefits of yer chimera form. Now, I got a couple options ya might want ta consider…"

The conversation over the next several minutes caused the thunderstruck chimera to take a good long look at his life's ambition, to rethink his entire mindset, about himself, and his curse, and how it related to his friends and the world in general. The Oracle waited patiently, glimmering a soft bluish-white. 

Eventually, he decided in favor of the Oracle's suggestion. She cautioned him that no matter which way he chose, it was not a one hundred percent sure thing. He nodded. "All right, but what does Xellos have to do with this? And…you mentioned a shrine maiden who--ah--" he stopped, blushing. He hated to ask, but the suspense was killing him. 

Zelgadis had tried to avoid thinking about that little tidbit of information, but… His hard hand came up absentmindedly, his fingers touching the stones in his chin as he wondered, _Who could it be? Filia? _His eyes widened._ Sylphiel? _

The Oracle's globe flashed orange irritation for a moment, then faded back to blue. "Zelgadis, sweetie," she said in a stern motherly tone, "I know yer used ta suppressing the whole idea, but in this case ya really gotta stop fooling yerself. Deep down, you know who I'm talking about." 

His face was expressionless as he slowly absorbed her statement. _Could she be right? Have I really been hiding the knowledge from myself? Am I so addicted to misery that I would refuse to see…_ Closing his eyes, he hesitantly began to look deep inside, seeking, trying to leave himself open to whatever might come along. It was like poking a sore spot…he twitched, fighting it, his fists clenching, squeezing his eyes tightly shut as he tried to stop his reflexive mental shield from forming. 

It's no use. He was shaking, a few rare drops of sweat clinging to his forehead. "Zelgadis…yer trying too hard." The Oracle's soothing glow filled the chamber with a soothing deep pink light. "Relax…and look with yer heart." 

He forced himself to ease up, deliberately taking slow, deep breaths, focusing on his breathing for several minutes until he felt that he was calm enough to try again. This time his mind was closer to how it felt just before he fell asleep--unfocused, receptive, with random images appearing and disappearing from the corners of his mental eyes.

A mental waft of warmth drew his attention. It enticed him to it like a flower turning toward the light. The same feelings of acceptance, of unconditional support, of pure, joyous love and devotion that he'd felt when he was drowning surrounded him in a cocoon of rose-colored light. Again, he noticed the vague feeling of familiarity, but caught himself as he reflexively he began to banish it. The vision strengthened, taking form in his mind…and his heart. And he knew. 

"Amelia," he murmured. 

He didn't realize he had spoken aloud until the Oracle replied, "Got it in one."

Instinctively he recoiled, his blue-green eyes widening. "No. It can't be her. It--it shouldn't be." The feeling that this was wrong, harmful--not to him, but to her--made him pull back mentally and emotionally. 

"And why not?" 

He burst out without thinking, "She deserves better than a monstrous creature like me! She's a princess. An innocent young girl who…" He couldn't go on. Already the familiar shadow of melancholy was reaching for him, as it always did when he was reminded of the things he could not have, the hopes he could not nourish, the dreams he could not reach for because he was different. His stone hand came up to cover his face.

"So ya _do _like her!" The Oracle said knowingly, jogging him out of his self-imposed despondency. 

He froze, a multitude of emotions running rampant through his head--astonishment, then wonder, and finally solemn contemplation. _I've never allowed myself to think along those lines before…but maybe… _He let his hand drop down to his side. 

"I--I think I could--care for her," he admitted slowly. "If I let myself. If I dared." He was trying to put into words something that he had only dealt with by instinct in the past. "But she's still so young. And--if this cure doesn't work, I'd stand to lose so much. I don't think I could bear it." 

"What's to lose? Ya already got her love." The Oracle answered firmly.

Zelgadis bit back a sharp retort, and took a deep breath. "She's young and foolish. She may have been able to fall in love with a chimera, but she's still a princess. If this cure doesn't work, there's no way we could ever be together. Unlike the princess in your story, Amelia is a definite candidate for the throne--someday. She has responsibilities to her kingdom. I won't ask her to shirk them." 

He hesitated, crossing his arms in an unconscious gesture of self-protection, looking down at the stone floor, mumbling, "It's better not to get involved." Most of his face was hidden by the wide sheaf of pale blue hair. "Although I wouldn't mind helping her with those responsibilities…"

The Oracle's orb went a deep, respectful golden tone. "You are a man of honor, Zelgadis Greywyrs. Amelia chose well." 

Automatically he dismissed her praise as irrelevant. She continued, "_But_ yer forgetting something. Amelia may be young and impulsive, as ya say, but she's got her own mind. Her decision wasn't a whim--she's had plenty of time ta get ta know ya. Ta learn ta respect and admire yer good points, and accept yer bad ones. Obviously, she liked what she saw. She chose ta love you--and _I _think she made a good decision."

Her simple honesty unsettled the stone man. This time he was forced to consider her words, finally allowing the reality of the situation to sink in. Closing his eyes, he pictured Amelia in his mind running happily to him, her arms spread wide to hug him, smiling her beautiful smile. 

__

She loves me. His heart expanded as if a cage around it had burst open. For several precious moments the joy he experienced was like a brilliant white light, a dazzling star in the blackness of the night sky. He smiled slowly, savoring the bliss. He hadn't been this happy since…since before Rezo cursed him.

His smile faded. He couldn't allow himself to get carried away--not until he knew for certain that his cure was achieved. _But if--when--it is…_A sudden awful thought struck him. "What am I thinking? She's supposed to be married in less than six weeks. She must have--"

Judging from the odd mixture of pink and orange swirls in the globe, the Oracle seemed to be caught between amusement and annoyance. "Ya know, for a guy who's so smart, ya sure manage ta miss the obvious. She hasn't chosen a suitor yet because she's waiting for you! Who was it who arranged this whole expedition in the first place?" 

Oh. Zelgadis thought back to the last day he had seen her. At the time, her odd behavior had confused him. But now he realized that she had been trying to get his attention in a shy sort of way, not sure whether he would welcome her advances. The memory of her tentative attempts made him smile again. Fondly, he thought of the concert, the guiolin, her goodbye kiss, and the gift of her heirloom ward bracelet. So many little signs that now made sense. 

Then his doubt began to return. _Still, even without the curse, I find it hard to believe she could really love me. I'm not the easiest person to get along with. I'm cold, selfish, demanding… Maybe the Oracle's wrong. She's only seen her through my eyes; it's not as if she's read _Amelia's_ mind. Maybe she mistook her overenthusiastic friendship for love. _

The thought was sobering, but he didn't want to question the Oracle's word, so he kept his fears to himself. He ignored the tiny spark of hope in the back of his mind that whispered that the Oracle always spoke the truth… 

"And as for subconsciously believing that Amelia will be forced ta choose between you and her kingdom--yer assuming that the cure's gonna fail. Ya gotta stop that, my boy. Yer way too young ta be so pessimistic." 

Ordinarily Zelgadis would have bristled at being addressed so familiarly, but her voice had such a genuine warmth to it that somehow he didn't mind. Besides, she was presumably much older and wiser than he.

"You should take lessons from that Amelia of yers." the Oracle added, glowing a playful pink.

That got a smile from him. He raised a stony eyebrow, clearing his throat. "I wouldn't go _that_ far," he replied, his voice taking on a rich note of amusement. Hearing the Oracle refer to the young princess as 'his' was both startling and comforting, encouraging him to hope she was correct. 

"That's the spirit!" The orb's pink glow brightened with enthusiasm. 

If she'd had a corporeal body, I'd have expected her to slap me on the back. Lina would have. Zelgadis smiled, remembering the last time Lina had enthusiastically--and painfully--done so. Suddenly reminded of Lina, Gourry, and Xellos, who were waiting outside for him, he asked, 

"Now how exactly does Xellos fit into all this?" 

"Xellos has the basic words ta the spell. Of course, since every chimera's different, each spell has ta be customized, but since it involves shape-changing ya need some mazoku influence."

His amusement abruptly dissolved. "Don't you know the words?" the chimera demanded in frustration. _What kind of an Oracle are you, anyway? _he wanted to say, but stifled it. He was on the verge of attaining the knowledge he'd sought for so long, and being sarcastic wouldn't help.

Her globe went a serious dark blue, with a hint of orange annoyance. "Of course not. I'm a _white_ magic oracle, created by holy magic from the gods. I don't got access ta mazoku secrets, any more than they got access ta mine. Remember how ol' Xellos got flattened when he tried ta zip in here?" 

That makes sense, I suppose. Disgruntled, he asked grumpily, "Does it have to be _Xellos?"_

"How many other mazoku do ya know?"

"Well…"

"Besides, only high-ranking mazoku have this kind of info." 

"How do you know that?"

"Zelgadis, dearie, I _am _an oracle. I may not know specific information, but I know where ta find it."

A thought occurred to him. "How did Gaderi get the words from Xellos?"

"He didn't. He used an ancient scroll I told him about, left over from before the War of the Monster's Fall. It crumbled ta dust during its last use, which is why I didn't mention it before." 

"Oh." _Dead end. _Sourly, he asked, "And how would you suggest I ask him? Trying to pry information out of Xellos is harder than trying to get Lina and Gourry to leave an 'all you can eat' restaurant while there's still food left." _Besides, he's likely to try something to foul this up. I wouldn't trust that mazoku to treat a hangnail, let alone my whole body._

Surprisingly, she had an answer for him, flashing a mischievous deep pink shade. "Get yer friend Lina ta beat it outta him. For some reason he seems ta respect her--or be intimidated by her." 

"You know…that just might work." Zelgadis murmured thoughtfully, once he got over being surprised. "So what about the other types of magic?"

"You guys already got enough knowledge of shamanism, and Amelia knows white magic, which is gonna make up the main component of the spell. Of course, Amelia's the one who's gotta cast it." she said matter-of-factly. 

"Amelia?"

"Well, yeah. I _said_ ya needed a shrine maiden, didn't I?" 

He paused to assimilate this new information. "I suppose I just assumed that I would be the one casting the spell."

"Sorry, buddy. The one thing a chimera can't do is unmake himself. You're lucky that little princess of yours is such a good sorceress." 

Lucky. I've never thought of myself as lucky, the eternally pessimistic chimera thought in surprise. 

"Here--this will play the right music." A small globe, the size of a piece of fruit, appeared in the air in front of him. It was a soft golden color, glowing slightly. The glow faded as he closed his stone hand around it. "To activate it, all ya gotta do is focus your will on it."

Pensively, Zelgadis looked at the small globe for a few moments. "Thank you," he said finally. He squared his shoulders and added, "I suppose I should be going. I want to get a hold of Xellos before he takes it into his head to disappear again." 

As he turned, the Oracle said, "Wait…there _is _something else you oughta know." 

The stone man froze. _I knew there was a catch! _"What is it?" he asked, slowly turning back to face the globe, his face outwardly calm. Underneath, he braced himself for the answer. 

"The spell _might_ be dangerous," she admitted slowly, her glow changing for the first time to an apologetic yellow. 

Is that all? "I've faced danger before. Dangerous how?" 

"Not ta you. Ta the shrine maiden who performs the spell."

Amelia? Now he began to worry.

The globe had swirls of yellow and blue flowing over it. "Ya see, only really powerful white magic can control the black and shamanistic forces of yer curse. The danger is that the exposure ta the dark forces could overwhelm her. Some shrine maidens are more fragile than others. Some just don't have enough gumption. _That's_ why it's important that she loves ya. If her love is pure, she'll have all the power she needs." 

Zelgadis pictured Amelia in his mind, carefree, happy, skipping along without a care in the world. _Could I ask her to put her life in danger to help me? _He beseeched, "Isn't there another way?"

The yellow was dominant again. "I wish I could help ya, kid. Fact is, the curse yer under is probably the most complex, most powerful, best-made spell of its kind I've ever seen. But then, whadda ya expect; it was concocted by a piece of ol' Shabranigdo himself. No _ordinary _white magic purification spell will touch it." 

__

"Shabranigdo. Not Rezo?" Zelgadis said sharply. 

"Nah. Like yer friend Lina said, there wasn't much left of the original Rezo by the time he cursed ya."

He paused to let that sink in. The Oracle, now glowing a more encouraging pink, continued, "But I wouldn't worry too much about it. That Amelia's a real kick-ass sorceress, ya know? I really don't think she'll have any trouble. I only mentioned it because, like I said before--"

"Nothing's ever a hundred percent certain," he finished for her, his voice hollow. "I see." Briefly, he buried his face in his hand again. He had his answer, and it was worse than he had imagined. Without another word, he turned and left the room, ignoring the called farewell of the Oracle, "Sorry I couldn't be of more help to ya, kiddo! Good luck!" 

*****

As they traveled through the maze of stone corridors, Lina found her thoughts focusing not on Gourry or their astonishing revelation of love, but on something he'd said that disturbed her. _How long has Zel known about this?_ "Hey, Gourry?" 

"Yeah?"

"What did Zelgadis say about me and you?"

"Huh? When?"

"When you were talking about us being lifelong companions."

"Oh. Ummm…" His face scrunched up into a thoughtful frown. Finally he said, "Mostly, he did the talking. I think he said he was glad we had each other…and…and…he was sad that no one wanted him. I was going to tell him Amelia likes him but you said not to talk about romance in front of him, right? I remember that."

Lina's eyes widened. _Thank goodness he actually listened to me for once. It'd wreck our whole plan if Zelgadis knew we were trying to get him cured so Amelia can marry him! I remember what Zel acted like back when she first developed a crush on him--what if he rejected her now, based on what he knew of Amelia then? He hasn't really seen her in a year, and she's really grown up a lot--I know. _

She sighed._ I really wish she could have come with us, to give Zel the chance to get to know her again after so long. With the ship out of commission we're going to lose almost all of the time we'd planned on. _She bit her lip pensively. _Maybe I should talk to him about her. Tell him how much she's grown up, how much she's learned about governing and all the other stuff royalty has to know. And then maybe casually mention that she needs a husband who will be able to help her with decisions, someone who can think analytically and who will balance her tendency to think with her heart. Someone who has the ability and personality to enforce those decisions, someone she cares about, who cares about her…_

"Hey, Lina, look at that."

The red-haired sorceress came out of her reverie to see that they had discovered what looked like a peaceful meadow in one of the caves. Gourry took it as a sign that they were getting near the surface. "Can't we just leave, Lina?" he pleaded. "The doorman thingy _said_ only Zelgadis could see the Oracle, right? If we leave, he probably won't bother us anymore."

"Are you crazy, Gourry? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We can't give up now. Besides, no little greenfaced, squeaky-voiced _doorman _is gonna chase Lina Inverse away with a couple of lousy parlor tricks!"

Gourry gulped as the ground trembled slightly. "You shouldn't have said that, Lina."

The green face of the Gatekeeper appeared in the air in front of them. "He's right, Lina." He sneered. "You should listen to him. He's obviously the more intelligent one of you both." 

"What?" She squawked, reacting instinctively. "There's no way he's smarter than me!" 

"Oh, really? Well then, let's make this more amusing. The threats in this room will only be dangerous to people of high intelligence." The ground under their feet trembled again. The Gatekeeper vanished, laughing devilishly.

After a few moments of silence, Gourry sighed ruefully. "Well, _I'm_ probably safe, at least." He glanced at his small female companion. "I wish you hadn't said that. You can't use your magic right now, remember?" 

For a moment, the young sorceress looked pensive under his gaze. Then she shrugged. "Well, we can't do anything about it now except be extra vigilant. Come on." 

***********************

****

Author's Note: BTW, each chapter takes me approximately seven hours to write, sometimes much longer if a scene is giving me trouble. I was wondering how long it takes other people? 


	20. Chapter Twenty: Bared Souls

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Note: I am upgrading the rating to PG-13 for a smidgen of nudity.

**Chapter Twenty: Bared Souls**

Lina began walking toward the end of the vast cave deep in the bowels of the Oracle's cavern, weaving her way around odd-looking plants. Some were dull and ugly, but others were astonishingly beautiful. "Look at this one, Gourry." She pointed to a lovely dark red flower with golden edges. 

"Nice," he agreed, smiling at her in a way that made her flush and look away. She pretended to be looking for hidden enemies in the bushes. 

After a few minutes, Gourry yawned. She asked, "Tired?"

"No--well, yeah, maybe a little. I'm okay."

Lina was conscious of her own weariness, and the faint throbbing of her sore knees, but it was not so much physical tiredness as mental, and emotional, exhaustion. _I can't wait to get my magic back!_ "I'm a little tired myself. What do you say we take a rest under that tree for a minute?"

She expected him to agree, but… "We can't. You're in danger here." It was then that she noticed his eyes were darting back and forth. 

Lina was touched by his apprehension. She knew he thought of himself as her guardian, but now she was aware of his full concern for her. "Gourry," she murmured.

He looked down at her. "I won't ever let anything happen to you again, Lina. I promised." His light blue eyes were very serious, watching her with such an intense look that she found herself unable to hold his gaze and dropped her eyes, feeling a blush bloom on her cheeks. 

After a few moments, they began walking again. Lina discovered that she felt guilty for making Gourry worry about her. Then she experienced a flash of resentment. _Who asked him to appoint himself my 'protector' in the first place? I never wanted this. I never asked him to…to fall in love with me. _

Her anger cooled at this thought, and she sighed and reached over to tug at his wrist. "You can guard me just as well while we're sitting down. Come on." 

The tree they chose was a larger version of the flower Lina had admired earlier, a vibrant kaleidoscope of maroon-and-gold foliage. They sat in silence for a while, gradually becoming less tense as no threats made their appearance. Gourry yawned again, leaning back against the trunk and idly picking one of the many flowers around its base. He twirled it absently in his fingers, admiring the deep ruby-red petals with delicate golden edging, then offered it to the young sorceress. 

Lina stared at the flower, and at Gourry. Both were so innocent, so sweet and charming…so beautiful. She felt an impulse to touch him, to show him something of the affection she felt for him. But now was not the right time or place--not to mention that the very thought still made her more than a little nervous--so instead she took the flower from him with awkward fingers, mumbling, "Thanks, Gourry." She tucked it into her headband. 

Suddenly there was a horrendous cracking sound. Lina felt herself being lifted into the air by what felt like a hundred snakes, their grips painfully rigid. Her arms were pinned to her sides, and one of them wrapped itself around her lower face, cutting off her air supply. 

"Lina!" Gourry shouted, his sword instantly in his hand. The innocent-seeming flowered tree had sprouted dozens of long, dark-green, snakelike vines, each one seeking to wrap itself around the body of the young sorceress in his care. He could only see small sections of her between them. Her mouth was covered; even if she'd had her magic she couldn't have chanted any spells. 

Gourry saw the panicked look in her eyes. Instantly he attacked the vines, slashing through them easily with the shining silver blade in his hands. He tried to get to Lina, but the sinuous things kept pulling her out of his reach. His blue eyes flashing, the young man grabbed hold of one of the vines and swung himself upward, trying to sever the vines directly above her to make it drop her, but though the vines parted like butter cut with a hot knife he couldn't seem to make any headway. _Where are they all coming from?_

Lina caught sight of the blonde swordsman leaping, slashing left and right at the vines. There seemed to be no end to them. No matter how many he cut, more appeared. She noticed that none of the vines tried to grab him, but before she could follow that thought any further the vines holding her began to viciously tighten their grip, obviously reacting to his attack. She choked as her ribs were agonizingly compressed, trying to pull in enough air to stay conscious. _Stop, Gourry, it's not working!_ she wanted to yell. 

It felt as if she'd been seized by iron bars that were trying to crush the life out of her. As the vines painfully bit into her tender skin, her muscles spasmed in reaction, but so tightly was she wrapped that she could not even twitch. Her lungs strained inside her chest, unsuccessfully searching for oxygen. She began to get dizzy, and the image of a leaping golden-haired man in front of her grew fuzzy and began to fade. Her vision was swimming with black spots as she passed out, fighting all the way. 

"Lina!" Gourry was desperate. The vines were killing her--she'd tried to say something, but now she was dangling lifelessly, the maroon flower he'd given her bobbing against her forehead, a mocking reminder of how he'd failed once again to protect her. _Wait a minute. That's it! _With an animal roar of rage and anguish, he drew back his arm and threw his sword.

* 

"Lina, are you okay? Lina?"

At first all she noticed was the pain, the throbbing bruises all over her body, with her head leading the drum beats. Her aching lungs protested at her gasp of pain, sending sharp twinges through her chest. As images of the battle returned, she slowly opened her eyes. Gourry's worried face was hovering over her, his long yellow hair dangling down his chest onto her shoulder. "Wh--what happened?" she whispered, her throat dry, and as sore as the rest of her. 

Kneeling, Gourry helped her sit up. She saw that they were back in one of the stone corridors. Her longtime companion held out his small water-pouch, helping her steady it as she sipped. "The tree-monster stopped attacking you as soon as I cut the flower from your hair. I guessed it was the trigger. I made sure you were breathing, then got you out of there as fast as I could." 

"How--how did you know it was a trigger?"

"They looked the same." He answered as if it were obvious. 

That simple. No wonder that green baka missed it. Sometimes the truth is so obvious that it can be right under your nose and you won't even see it. Like the fact that the plants were programmed to attack anyone with high intelligence--Gourry beat them, even though he wasn't considered a threat. 

She looked up at the young man hovering over her. His unsmiling gaze was focused on her face, his concern for her still obvious in his every word, his every action. _He's always cared for me. Always looked out for me, no matter how badly I treated him, no matter what kind of crazy situation I put us in… _

Her sudden elation was partly a delayed reaction to the danger, partly from a sudden surge of affection for her blonde companion. Laughing, she put out her hand and rested it against his cheek. "Gourry, you're beautiful!" 

He froze, looking at her with wide eyes. Almost a minute went past. As her mind cleared, she became aware of what she was doing. She began to pull her hand away, but he quickly put his hand over hers, giving it a gentle squeeze before releasing it. His smile was full of tenderness.

Shyly she smiled back at him, then looked down, feeling her face grow warm. _This is so weird. Part of me wants to keep on looking for the Oracle, and part of me wants to make Gourry happy by leaving. I wish we could get that nasty little jerk to stop bothering us. We're nothing more than the evening's entertainment--that's it! _

Gourry was surprised at Lina's sudden willingness to show affection toward him. She had always been a demonstrative person--whether she was enjoying good food or displaying her considerable temper, you always knew how she felt about everything. Even though sometimes he didn't know _why_ she was mad at him, it was comforting to know what to expect from her. 

This new behavior both pleased and unsettled the swordsman. He was happy that she seemed to be more comfortable touching him, but he wasn't sure how he should respond. Gourry wanted to show her how he felt about her. _I wouldn't mind touching her…hugging her and kissing her and…all the other stuff people do when they love each other. _Still…it was safer to let her take the lead. He just hoped she wouldn't change her mind.

Now, he looked at her, sitting there on the stone floor. She was blushing fetchingly and looking down in an appealingly shy sort of way, quite unlike herself. Then she looked up and whispered, "Gourry," and gestured to him to come closer to her face.

Does she want me to kiss her? he thought in surprise. True, they had kissed not long ago, but that had been a special moment. Somehow he would have thought Lina would be more reserved. 

After hesitating for a long moment to make sure, he leaned down toward her. As he moved closer to her face he felt a tug on his hair, and found himself with his head turned to the side, with Lina whispering through cupped hands into his ear. "I don't know if that Gatekeeper can hear me, but I've got a plan."

He blinked a few times, trying to reorient. "Oh. What is it?"

"We can't hurt him physically. I can't hurt him magically. That means we have to beat him at his own game--psychologically."

"Psycho-what?"

Lina rolled her eyes at him. "Look, Gourry, this guy enjoys making fun of us. So if we pretend we don't care what he does, he'll get bored and leave us alone." 

"So, basically, he's just a bully, right?" 

"Yeah," Lina replied, looking surprised. She repeated, "So just ignore him, no matter what."

__

Unless you're dying, or something like that. Gourry decided. "That'll be easy. I'll just tune him out. No problem." He began to stand up. 

Lina seized his hair, and yanked him back down to his former kneeling position. "Not as easy as you might think! He can make us see and hear and touch things that aren't real! You have to be on guard!" she whispered fiercely, tickling his ear.

"Okay, okay," he whined. As he stood up, he extended a hand to the petite sorceress to help her up. He noticed that she held onto his hand a little longer than it was necessary to pull herself to her feet. 

As they began walking, Lina watched Gourry's face relax into its most dull, amiable look--he had tuned out. She half-smiled. _What a time for that particular skill to come in handy! I almost envy him._

It wasn't long before the Gatekeeper was up to his old tricks. Suddenly where Gourry had been was a pretty young woman, with blue eyes, long blonde hair in ponytails, and a full bust. Her outfit was a lovely flowing gown of pink and white. She strode along calmly, apparently not noticing anything unusual. 

Been there, done that. The red-haired sorceress stifled a snicker, looking straight ahead. She remembered her poor friend's reaction the first time he'd been forced to masquerade as a girl. _It's almost a shame that he makes a prettier girl than I do. Oh, well, if this is the worst that little reject from a goblin festival can throw at us, we've got it made._

Gourry was thinking about the last battle with the tree-monster, wondering if that had been a fake, too. It had hardly attacked him at all, compared with the number of tentacles it had wrapped around Lina. He remembered the Gatekeeper saying how the threats would only attack someone smart. 

For the most part, Gourry didn't mind not being as smart as Lina. It seemed to him that the smarter you were, the more things you found to worry about or get upset over. He figured Lina must be really smart--she got mad more often than anybody he knew. He was usually glad to let her make the decisions about where to go, and which jobs to take. It was easier to just let her take charge, and pull his own weight where it counted. He knew Lina needed him. 

Lina watched as the young woman vanished, to be replaced by her familiar male sidekick. Suddenly the red-haired sorceress found herself wearing some kind of floppy costume. By the feel of it, it had a lot of extra arms and legs. Well, not exactly arms and legs; they were very thin and droopy. Almost like…

__

A jellyfish. Lina blinked. _Hey, wait a minute! Is this that Gatekeeper's way of saying I'm dumber than Gourry? _she thought indignantly. She caught herself starting to scowl with her teeth clenched. _Whoa, Lina, it may be insulting, but it's harmless. _She relaxed, congratulating herself on her quick reflexes. 

Gourry was a couple of steps ahead of her. She happened to be looking at his back when abruptly, his hair--that magnificent flow of long yellow silk--vanished, leaving him completely bald. She bit her tongue, hard, trying to hide her sudden mirth. 

She forced herself to look away so as not to look like she was staring. _The Gatekeeper must figure that'll get a rise out of Gourry. I always suspected he was vain about his hair, even though he never pays much attention to it. Hair that long can be a nuisance sometimes, though, so he must prefer how it looks long. _

She sped up a little until she was walking alongside her companion, casually glancing up at him for a few seconds. _Gee, he looks so different. I never realized how much a part of him his hair is. _Without the shining golden hair to soften the angular lines of his face, he seemed older, thinner, grimmer. The formerly-blonde swordsman didn't even put up his hand to feel his head, striding along unhurriedly. 

Lina became aware that she was clomping along in heavy thick-soled boots like Gourry's. _What do I look like now? _She was possessed by the fierce itch of curiosity. _I can't pull out a mirror--I can't react! _

Her clothes, by the feel of them, had changed as well. Her cape seemed to be missing, and the material of her clothes seemed to be woven of a rougher fabric than her own. As she turned her head, she felt something brush her face--or rather, her face brushed her high cloak collar, but it felt strange, as if she were wearing a scarf or something. _What did he do to my face? _A thought struck her--_Did he make me like Zelgadis? _

She had to know. Casually, she pretended to be scratching an itch on her cheek. Her fingers raked through harsh, coarse hair that appeared to be growing out of her face! _What _am_ I? Some kind of beast? _

A more insulting idea hit her. _Why that little weasel! _she thought, outraged. _Just because I don't have breasts like Naga does NOT mean I look like a man! _The red-haired sorceress' face twitched, wanting to scowl. Her tense hands were trying to close into fists, but she forced herself to calm down. _Almost got me…but Lina Inverse triumphs! _

Lina noticed that Gourry's hair had reappeared. _Hm. He seems to be handling this easier than me. I haven't seen him so much as twitch an eyelash. _The thought stirred up her natural competitiveness._ Well, if he can do it, I can do it. _She decided their silence was unnatural. To the Gatekeeper it would be an encouraging sign. "So, Gourry, what's the first thing you want to eat once we get back to Seyrune?" she said abruptly, deliberately picking a non-sensitive topic. 

Gourry glanced at her, and smiled. It looked like a perfectly natural smile in response to a question about food. She couldn't tell if he was really smiling in amusement at her appearance. Of course, hearing a female voice coming from a bearded male probably did look odd. 

"Hmm, good question. Maybe a nice big steak." Suddenly he _was _a steak, a huge red-brown piece of meat walking along beside her with arms, legs, and long blonde hair. "Or maybe some of those purpleberry pastries we had with breakfast the morning we left." 

And cue the giant pastry, Lina thought impertinently as a large bready pile of fruit-filled dough appeared beside her. 

"Wait--I got it--first I'm gonna get some of that great ice cream that's so famous in Seyrune." Lina watched as her partner transformed into an amazingly realistic soft-serve ice cream cone, half chocolate, half vanilla. 

She snorted, half in amusement, half in exasperation. _This is getting so predictable it's boring. _She faked a huge yawn, stretching her arms out about her bearded head for maximum effect. _I bet this'll tick off that little jerk. _

Abruptly she became aware that her clothing was no longer stiff and scratchy--because she wasn't wearing any. She felt a cool breeze blowing across her legs, her long hair swishing across her back, and the smooth, cold stone floor on the bottoms of her feet. _Oh gods, I'm naked._

The young sorceress was in shock. Somehow her legs kept pace with Ice Cream Cone Gourry, who continued to prattle on about food while looking at her in a perfectly normal manner. After a few seconds she started to react, and had to fight her powerful instinctive reaction to cover herself with her hands. 

Every muscle was tense--she wanted to shriek out her fury and embarrassment, to pound Gourry into the floor for looking at her, to blast that disgusting _sleazeball_ of a gatekeeper to nothingness! The words to the Dragon Slave were pounding through her brain as she literally saw red swimming in front of her vision. 

Somehow, she managed to control herself. That same fierce inner strength, the iron will which allowed Lina Inverse to control the fearsome Ragna Blade and the unbelievable Giga Slave gave her the strength to do the most difficult thing in the world for the powerful young sorceress--nothing. 

She forced herself walk normally, relaxing her arms and swinging them as naturally as she could manage by her sides. She promised herself, _As soon as my powers return I'm gonna come back here and Dragon Slave that little creep! Zelgadis and Amelia can wait--this guy is gonna _die! 

The diminutive sorceress had managed to keep her expression more or less neutral, mostly out of shock, but she was aware that she was blushing, and beginning to sweat. She was also getting more and more irritated at Gourry, who was now talking about unusual beverages unique to Seyrune. _Stop looking at me! You should know better than that, after all the stuff we've been through! _She decided she'd give him the pounding of his life later. 

Gourry was behaving as if nothing was happening, which both calmed and upset her. _What is _with_ him? Doesn't he see I'm naked? Am I so flat-chested that he doesn't even consider me worth gawking at? _She fumed for a moment. _I know he's probably just doing what I told him, but still…if I wasn't so mortified I'd be insulted! _

A thought occurred to her. _Hey, maybe only _I'm _having this illusion. Maybe that green-faced little pervert is just making me _think_ I'm naked. _That suspicion gave her some comfort, letting her relax a little. She sneaked a look down, pretending to examine a fallen piece of masonry, and confirmed that yes, she was completely nude. 

Gourry's monologue about cold drinks made her realize she was still sweating from reaction, even though the cave was quite chilly, and gave her an idea to explain it away. "You know, I could go for one of those drinks right now. I'm so warm, I'm sweating. I need a bath." 

Gourry's appearance finally reverted to normal. "Yeah, me too," he agreed.

__

Yes, he needs a bath, or yes, he's sweating? If he's sweating, is it because of me? Lina wondered. _What does he see? Ohh, this is torture! _It was taking every ounce of her considerable willpower to keep from reacting. Even then, only the faint hope that only _she_ was experiencing this particular illusion was keeping her from completely losing it. 

Just as the red-haired sorceress was starting to get used to the idea of invisible nudity, her clothing reappeared on her as if it had never been gone. She sensed it was a sign of defeat on the Gatekeeper's part. _Did your worst, and it wasn't enough, huh? _she thought grimly.

Deliberately she turned to Gourry and commented innocently, "Gee, this is so boring. I wonder where that incompetent excuse for a doorman is?" 

"Right here." The face materialized on the nearest wall. 

"Oh, _there _you are." Slyly, Lina pretended to be mildly surprised. "Things have been so quiet. We thought you'd given up." 

The Gatekeeper's face went from green to red. "Why you little--I ought to--arrgh!" 

Lina raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Give it up, twerp. We're on to you. You've thrown _everything_ at us you could think of, and we're still here. Is it _really_ because we can't see the Oracle, or just because you're looking for a diversion from your boring guard duty?" 

The green face went thoughtful. "You're sharp." He sighed. "It's both. The Oracle can only see one querent per year, and it _is_ incredibly boring to have no one to talk to."

Lina was stunned. "Only one a year?" 

"Yes. Usually we only get a few travelers per year, and after the first one I have to get rid of the rest. Some, like you, are incredibly stubborn and refuse to leave, so over the centuries several…deterrents…have been developed. You have the honor of being the first to completely overcome every aspect of them." The Gatekeeper surprised her by somehow managing to bow his head to her without an apparent neck. 

She was oddly touched by this gesture of respect from the little creep. "But why didn't you just tell us this at the start?" she demanded.

"Would you have believed me?" 

Lina was silent.

"Besides, it's so much more fun this way," he added, winking at her in a friendly way. Lina found herself blushing again.

"Why, you--!" 

*********************

Author's Notes: It's nice to know I have several loyal readers already! A special thanks to those of you who have left more than one review--that's very encouraging! I've been working on my story for two years, off and on, and one of the main reasons I waited to put it online was so my readers wouldn't have the wait of days to months between chapters…and I wouldn't have the pressure to produce--nothing ruins writing for me faster than turning my hobby into a job. 

And I wanted to do as Alea said in one of her reviews--to have the events in the later chapters be built upon the earlier ones--and by holding off putting it online I could add foreshadowing and subtle hints of things that will be important in later chapters--so read carefully, minna! ^__^ 

Oh, and before I forget, if you do a search for a site called Inspiration Stemming From Sleep Deprivation there's a fanpic from Chapter 2--Blue Eyes on a Balcony, done by my marvelous friend, Shell Presto. I'll add a link as soon as we figure out how to do that. She's also hosting my fic, adding chapters a little at a time, so if FF.net goes down or you just want to see my fic with fancier font titles, check it out. SP has her own excellent A/Z fic--One Third Human, hosted there too. Have fun! 


	21. Chapter TwentyOne: In Real Life Your Ch...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

_a Slayers fanfic_

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing and references to nudity.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie! 

Note: 'quiescent' is pronounced 'kwee-eh-sent'; 'quiche' is pronounced 'kwesh'.

****

Chapter Twenty-One: 

In Real Life Your Chest's Not ThatBig

As the petite sorceress' embarrassment gave way to anger, she was stopped from responding as she and Gourry suddenly materialized in front of a pair of metal doors similar to those on the outside of the temple. It had the same ancient text carved into it. "You may enter the Oracle's chamber if you wish--I can't stop you--but she has already given your companion his answer and now she sleeps."

Over the surface of the doors a lovely flowing pattern of music and lights played. Then, just as the outer doors had, the metal doors lit up with a brilliant white light and vanished. There was nothing in the darkened chamber except a dimly glowing silver orb hovering in midair. 

Lina hesitated, mentally feeling for magic. "He's right. It's quiescent." 

"Queshent--isn't that some kind of food?" Gourry piped up. 

"No, you idiot!" Lina took out some of her pent-up frustration on him by elbowing him roughly in the stomach. "Not quiche--quiescent! Dormant. Inactive. Sleeping." 

"Oh." As Gourry rubbed his stomach he thought sourly, _There are times I like Lina better when _she's_ kwee-eh-sent. _

Lina looked a moment longer at the peacefully resting globe, then turned away, scowling. "Great! All of this was for nothing!" She was about to go off on a supreme rant when something the Gatekeeper had said filtered through the red haze of anger. "Wait--you said Zel's been here already?" 

"Yes."

"Come on then, Gourry, we gotta hurry and catch up with him!" Lina turned and began heading up the corridor, assuming that it was the way out, since the hall had ended with the big doors. _What if he's already been cured? What if he takes it into his head to go off without us? Will we even recognize him? I wonder what he looks like? _She pictured the only relative of Zelgadis' she had ever met--Rezo. _Physically speaking, the man was really good-looking. If Zel takes after him, Amelia sure won't have anything to complain about! _

Now that he had admitted defeat, the Gatekeeper was unexpectedly docile. "I shall transport you to the main entrance." 

It didn't feel as if they'd moved--it just looked as if the scenery had shifted. The Gatekeeper continued mechanically, "Your companion has not yet arrived--the Oracle suggested to me that he take the long way. Many people need time to think after a session with her. May you have good fortune on your upcoming journey." He vanished, looking relieved that his servant duties were over. 

"Hey, wait, you forgot to let us out!" Lina called. The Gatekeeper did not appear. The red-haired sorceress growled, and turned to face the door, looking for a knob before she realized, "Well, it looks like you're gonna get another chance to sing, Gourry." She looked up at her handsome companion. 

His eyes lit up. "Really? Okay, what should I sing?" 

"The same notes Zelgadis sang to open the door. Start from the lowest one and go up." 

"All right." He turned to face the door, closed his eyes and rubbed his chin in concentration. Then he opened his eyes and lifted his chin a little. The notes emerged from his lips, pure, clear and on-key. His voice wasn't quite as good as Zelgadis', but it was still better than she would have expected. 

"How was that?" 

"Huh? Oh, great, Gourry, just great." She had to pull her attention away from wondering again just what he would sound like if he were to sing a full-fledged song. The pair walked out into the mid-afternoon sunshine. "Hey, we were in there longer than I thought," the young sorceress remarked. "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry, Lina," Gourry chuckled. Her loyal 'guardian' smiled at her warmly. "What do you say we get some food at that village down there when Zelgadis comes out?" 

"What village?" 

Gourry walked to the edge of the little meadow, past the trees growing around the edges of it, and pointed down. Lina squinted. At the base of the mountain on the plush eastern side was a little clearing where a village might be, but she couldn't quite make it out. But then, Gourry's eyesight had always been sharper than hers, especially over long distances.

"That's the wrong way, Gourry. When we leave here we need to go south." 

They wandered over to the southern edge of the meadow. "Well, _that's_ no good." Gourry commented, looking down at the barren, dry desert-like terrain. Only a few hardy plants brought any color to the tan landscape. "How come it's so different?" he asked her. 

"Sometimes mountains are too steep--all the moist air from the eastern ocean where we came from ends up raining on that side, so not much water makes it to this side."

"It's gonna be a lot harder to find food, then." Her blonde comrade could always be counted upon to get to the heart of the matter.

"Yeah, I see." Lina was silent for a moment. "Well, then, we'd better see what we can find while we're on this side. I'm sick of getting stuck wandering around with no food. I mean, a joke's a joke, but that last time really overdid it." 

Gourry nodded vigorously in agreement. 

*****

Lina ordered Gourry to dig for some tuber roots and other plants; things that were nourishing and wouldn't spoil quickly. She went to a nearby stream to use her old fish-catching routine. The stream had a rather sparse fish population, so the young sorceress found herself with plenty of time to think about the events of the past few hours. 

Why did the Gatekeeper say Zelgadis would need time to think about the Oracle's answer? The Oracle was supposed to have a cure for Zelgadis--what sort of cure? It must not have been a simple one, by the sound of it. Her naturally suspicious mind made associations with a lot of other very powerful, complicated spells. _Does the spell call for some kind of sacrifice, I wonder? Like a life of celibacy, or poverty? Blood? His firstborn child, for crying out loud? Hm, maybe his human body will have a shortened life span. _

Or he might have had to promise to be a servant to the Oracle. That's how he got into that mess with Rezo. The red-haired sorceress frowned worriedly as she stared into the rippling clear water. _Sometimes Zel can be so focused on getting what he wants most…Nothing and no one matters to _

him anymore if his goal within reach. And people call me _reckless! _

Her mind shifted to the other topic that was taking up a large portion of her thought process: _I'm dying to know whether Gourry really saw me naked, but I _can't_ just ask him a question like _that, _can I? _

*****

A short while later Gourry came to find her. "Hey, Lina, you done yet? I've got a really big pile of things sort of like potatoes and stuff, only I was thinking: how are we going to carry it all? Maybe we should eat it now, so we won't have to worry about dropping it or losing it. What do you think?"

She snorted. "Dummy. I just got through telling you we need something to eat to cross that little desert--it's gonna take us a couple of days, at least. We'll just have to use some of our clothes as carry-bags or something, once we've washed the food." 

He looked disappointed. "What about those?" he asked, pointing to the medium-sized pile of fish she had managed to accumulate.

"We'll eat most of those now. They'll only go bad if we try to take them into a desert."

Her comrade's blue eyes lit up. "All right!" He began to gather pieces of wood to make a fire. Lina watched, as she always did on 'that day', with a sharp feeling of uselessness as Gourry put his flint-and-iron stones to work, to create a spark to start the fire. _It just isn't fair. Men should have a day or two out of the month when they can't use any of their skills. _

She watched her friend grin with delight as the first flickers of orange flame appeared. Her lips curved in a small, fond smile._ He does have his uses. And at least Gourry doesn't really tease me or look down on me when it happens. Most of the time, I actually forget about 'it'…unless we're in a situation like this. _

The two of them settled down to wait for the fish to cook. Several times Lina started to say something, caught herself, and was silent. She kept glancing at Gourry out of the corner of her eye. _Should I say something now, or wait? I don't want him saying something about what happened in front of Zelgadis! _The thought spurred her to action. "Gourry--"

"Lina--" He said at the same moment. They stopped and exchanged glances. 

"Go ahead," he said immediately.

"You first." She wanted to see what he thought about everything. All these new feelings, new potentials, new choices…She was barely able to accept what had happened between them herself; how much more confused _he_ must be feeling! 

"Are the fish done yet?" 

She dropped to the ground, twitching. As she recovered from her shock/chagrin/disbelief she leaped back to a sitting position. "Jellyfish brains! Is that all you can think about?" she yelled at him. 

"What'd I say?"

"I _thought_ maybe you'd want to talk about what happened back there! Didn't it mean anything to you at all?" Lina discovered that she was as angry and upset as if he _had_ made a big deal out of it. It was the way she was made--she thrived on attention. It was part of the reason she was known to be sharp-tongued--when you insult them, people react to you. They _respond_. It didn't occur to her until later that she and the Gatekeeper might have had something in common.

"What's there to talk about?" He looked bewildered, as he often did when he'd said something that made her angry. "_I_ said I loved you, and _you_ said you loved me, too. That's pretty easy to understand, isn't it?" 

The urge to fight disappeared, as suddenly as if a bubble had been popped. She had been so focused on the dubious issue of her apparent nudity that she had almost completely pushed aside her earlier revelation. She lowered her eyes. _Oh, Gourry._

"I'm--I'm sorry." An unexpected apology escaped from her lips. 

"What for?" He looked concerned at her unusual behavior. It was probably one of less than a dozen apologies he'd heard her utter in all the years he had known her. 

"Oh…nothing." She looked up at him. There was a softness in her eyes that occurred even more rarely than her apologies. "I'm just being silly. I…I'm glad you love me." She smiled at him tenderly, suddenly feeling that everything she'd been worried about wasn't important. 

She was rewarded with one of his beautiful smiles. "Lina," he murmured, his hand coming up toward her face. Then he hesitated, and pulled his hand back a little, curling his fingers, finally letting it fall into his lap. In his eyes she read fear of rejection. Or of her temper.

Silently, the ruby-eyed girl pondered. She was not exactly sure yet just how she wanted to handle all this…it was too new, too important to ruin. She wanted time to think, but she also wanted to reassure her companion. He looked as if he thought he'd done something he should be ashamed of. 

Finally the young girl reached out and tentatively took his hand in hers, smiling shyly up at him. He brightened immediately, shifting his grip so that he was holding her hand comfortably in his, his face full of contentment. It gave Lina a good feeling to be able to give him such happiness from such a simple act. 

When the fish were done, they began eating, without fighting, for once. _I wonder where Zel is? _Lina thought. _It's been almost an hour. If something's happened to him, I won't be of much help. If he doesn't show up soon, I--_

Gourry had been unusually quiet up to now, methodically eating with an expression of contemplation, but now he spoke up. "Hey, you know something, Lina? Even without you warning me, I would've been able to tell that that was a dream." 

Lina pulled her thoughts away from her missing companion. She raised an orange eyebrow. "Really? How?"

"Simple. In real life your chest's not thatbig." His statement was delivered without a hint of contempt, as if he were just making a comment about the weather--just stating a fact. 

She stared at him. Slowly her face twisted into a grimace of rage. 

He noticed it too late. "N--no offense!" He flinched, holding up his hands in the classic 'please don't hurt me' gesture, palms facing her, thumb, index and pinkie fingers extended. 

Lina was reaching out to throttle him when it hit her. _Wait a minute. That _was_ my real body; I'm almost positive. Does this mean that they've finally grown big enough for him to notice? Or maybe they just looked more impressive because I was naked? _She was torn between delight and fury, between the desire to cause her companion a great deal of bodily harm, or indignantly demanding that he take a better look. 

He took advantage of her hesitation to make his escape, grabbing a few more fish and making a frantic dash for the other side of the clearing. Before he was out of earshot she called out, "Hey, Gourry!"

He glanced over his shoulder to see her standing in the same spot as before. He slowed. "What?"

"If you say anything about this to Zelgadis," she growled, not making it clear as to exactly which 'this' she was referring--nudity or love--, "I'll make you sorry you were ever born." Her eyes were narrowed. Gourry gulped. 

Much later, after she had had a chance to cool down, Lina found herself musing that the Gatekeeper had done her an inadvertent favor. Her body, small as it was, had proved adequate in attracting Gourry's interest. It gave her a much-needed boost of self-confidence in an area she had long been 'sensitive about'. _Maybe I won't Dragon Slave the ol' goblin just yet. Anyway, I'd have to blow up the Oracle, too, and I want to come back here next year to ask about treasure, like I was going to before Gourry interrupted me. Besides, black magic may not even work inside. Now that the Barrier's gone, the white magic that protects this place has probably gotten stronger than in years past. _

*****

When Zelgadis finally emerged from a bright flash of light as the door did its vanishing act, Lina and Gourry were just finishing packing up the large pile of tuber roots and assorted edible plants that Gourry had found. The ended up using Lina's black cape, which made a nice carry-sack, although she complained that it was going to end up green-stained.

"Zelgadis! Finally." Lina felt a momentary flash of disappointment that her friend was still a chimera, but it was swallowed up in the gladness that he was all right. "Gourry and I have been waiting forever. What _took_ you so long? Uh--" Lina suddenly noticed his expression, or rather, his lack of one. The chimera's stone face could have been that of a real statue for all the emotion it showed. _Actually, I've seen statues with more spirit. _"What's wrong, Zel?" 

He didn't respond, alarming her. "Zelgadis?" Lina touched his arm tentatively. He tensed, but did not pull away as she half-expected him to. "You saw the Oracle, didn't you?" She suddenly wondered if that jerk of a Gatekeeper had handed him a pile of lies, too. 

"Yes." His voice was flat, as emotionless as his face. 

"Well, what did she say?" 

Zelgadis looked down and closed his eyes. His lips tightened, and Lina could see his thin stone eyelids twitching. He seemed to be struggling with himself. Finally, he sighed, and his narrow shoulders drooped as he answered quietly, "I don't want to talk about it." He shook off her arm and began walking, heading south. 

She called after him, "But aren't we going to go after your cure?"

"No," he replied without turning back to look at them.

"Um, Zelgadis…we saved you some fish." Gourry offered tentatively. "Are you hungry?" 

"No," the stone man repeated. "Please…just leave me alone." 

Lina and Gourry looked at each other, and turned to watch as their comrade reached the edge of the meadow and began to make his way down the slope. "What's the matter with him?" Gourry asked Lina, his face concerned.

The diminutive sorceress didn't answer for a long moment. Finally, she spoke up in a small voice, "I think…the Oracle may have told him that there was no cure." _That was one alternative I hadn't thought of…_

"Oh." The blonde swordsman sent a sorrowful look after his friend. "That's bad, isn't it." 

"Yeah." Her voice had gone husky from sympathy. "It means he can't marry Amelia."

"Oh, right. That's _really_ bad."

Silently, the two of them began walking after the despondent chimera.

Zelgadis maintained his impassive demeanor for the next several hours as they entered the desert. Both of his companions were soon sweating, rolling up their sleeves and fanning themselves. The chimera, of course, took no notice of the heat. 

Lina had cautioned Gourry to ration his water. When the sun went down, walking was more comfortable, so Lina decided not to suggest setting up camp yet. _I can see we're going to have to do as much traveling at night as possible. It's no big deal; even at this time of the month I can do a light-spell if the moon isn't bright enough._

Shelooked sadly at the dejected chimera walking ahead of her, his shoulders slumped in defeat. _Poor guy. He hasn't said a word since he came out. I can't even imagine how he must be feeling right now. Did the Oracle really tell him there was no cure? _She sighed, sensing that now was not the time to try to interrogate her friend about his experience. _It's just as well he doesn't know how Amelia feels about him. On the way here, I was really hoping he was in love with her…and now I hope he isn't. For his sake. _

She lifted her gaze to the dark horizon in front of them as it was revealed by the moon's pale glow. _So where do we go from here? We're heading toward Seyrune, but what's the point? Amelia's going to be heartbroken…do I really want to stay and watch her get married to some stranger she doesn't love? And what about Zelgadis? With his last hope gone, he might do anything. He might revert back to the monster he was before we met him…he might even…even try to kill himself. _

Lina was distracted for a moment, trying to imagine how a man of stone could commit suicide. _Gourry's sword of light is gone…Poison, maybe? Or he might try to drown himself. _She pressed her lips together in a determined line, her fine orange eyebrows drawing together. _No way! I didn't rescue him from the sea just to have him die by his own hand. _She watched Zelgadis, focusing mostly on his hair as it glistened silvery in the moonlight. _I think Gourry and I are going to have to watch him pretty closely for a while. _

A surreal hush seemed to surround the trio like a cloud of nonsound. For most of the night they walked, although toward morning the two humans were moving rather mechanically, endlessly placing one foot in front of the other. Finally, as the sky began to turn pink in the east, Lina broke the silence. "Hey, Zel, what do you say we get some sleep?"

"And some food? I'm hungry," Gourry suggested, although he had looked moments before as if he were walking in his sleep. 

The stone man stopped, and finally turned to face them. Lina shivered at the cold, detached expression on his face, as he considered her words. Then, in a vague, hollow sort of tone that sounded as if his mind was far away, he repeated, "Sleep?" His gaze seemed to be focused off into the distance as he said slowly, "Yes…I'm tired…" 

In a manner that was already becoming familiar, Lina and Gourry exchanged worried glances at their friend's abnormal behavior. 

After a pitifully meager ration of food (at least in Lina's estimation), the two humans prepared a makeshift tent from Zelgadis' cape and a stick they had used to dangle the food bag from. The chimera's listless behavior bothered the redheaded sorceress. _I hope all he needs is a good night's…or day's…sleep. It's unnerving to have him be so quiet…I mean, he's not a big talker but he's always _there, _you know? _

The stone man had barely acknowledged it when Lina approached him to ask for the loan of his cape; he'd simply reached up with one hand and unfastened it, then held his arm out to the side, letting the cloth drag on the dry, cracked dirt. He hadn't raised his eyes to look at her even once. 

When the 'tent' was finished, Lina turned to the silent chimera. She felt a sharp twinge of empathy go through her to see him still standing where she had left him. He looked so lost, so there-yet-not…She had to clear her throat before she could say in a quiet tone, "Hey, Zel, come on and lie down for a while." 

She tried to make eye contact with him, but he turned away, simply lying down on the ground several feet away with his back to them. The young sorceress bit her lip and turned to follow Gourry into the tent, blinking hard to hold back sudden tears at the sight of the thin body curling up in a ball on the parched earth. 

****

Author's Note: 

The part where Lina comments 'A joke is a joke' is a reference to the beginning of Slayers Try, where the characters did a running gag about starvation.

Exactly what the Oracle's plan is shall have to remain a secret 'till later. Gomen! ^__^


	22. Chapter 22: Amelia's Adventure

**Only Stone on the Outside**

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story--I just like to know someone's interested enough. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

**Chapter Twenty Two: Amelia's Adventure**

Birds were singing, a warm breeze was blowing, and the princess of Seyrune was singing too. _I didn't realize how much I've missed traveling on days like this, _she mused cheerfully. _What a lovely day! _The sky was a pure crystal blue, with only a few bright white clouds adorning it.

She leaned forward to pat her father's horse, Gallant. "You're enjoying this, too, aren't you?" She had gotten into the habit of talking out loud to him. He was good company even if he couldn't talk back. He twitched his small white ear to show that he had heard her. 

They were approaching the base of a long, low mountain, more a large hill than a mountain. Amelia used her knees to signal Gallant to stop and closed her eyes. The blue-eyed princess had discovered that if she let her body relax, and cleared her mind, she could often sense in which direction Zelgadis was located, or at least, where her other bracelet was. She wasn't sure if her own bracelet was helping her. Over the last week the direction had changed a bit from northeast of her position to almost exactly north. 

At this rate, I should meet up with them in about a week. How she looked forward to seeing Zelgadis again! _It'll be just like old times_. _Well, except that I'm hoping he'll be cured. He's _got_ to be! After everything we've all been through, him not finding his cure would be terribly unjust! _

Hmm…I wonder what he'll look like? As her mind drifted with the lazily rolling clouds, an image of her 'fiance' Kerrin slowly formed behind her eyes. She blinked, a little surprised--she had barely given the young man a thought all through her journey. She remembered his gentle, sensitive face, his boyish tenor voice, his slender, graceful form--so like her dear chimera, and yet so different--and smiled wryly. _Somehow I just can't picture Mister Zelgadis with reddish-brown hair. But he has to be cured. He just _has_ to be! Otherwise Kerrin and I will have to get married, even though he knows I love someone else._

Gallant snorted and shifted his weight under her, sensing her disquiet. She leaned over to hug his broad neck. "It's all right, Gallie. I'm sure everything's fine." She tried not to think about the strange dreams she was having every night--odd dreams that she could never quite remember when she woke up--just flashes of faces and creatures and scenes, always with a shining spot of periwinkle-colored light in the background, like a miniature sun or something. 

They were quite unlike her normal dreams. She wondered if the bracelet might be causing them--or even sending them to her from Zelgadis. _Now that I think about it, before I left the palace I woke up every morning thinking I was on a moving ship. _It made her feel a little guilty that she might be inadvertently spying on him, but she had no way of knowing if her suspicion was correct. 

Sitting up, Amelia took up the reins. "That way, Gallie. North, over that bluff." She squeezed his sides with her knees, and he broke into a trot. When the powerful white steed reached the beginnings of the foothills, he took her up easily, his hooves sure and swift. 

A few hours later they reached the summit, looking down at the spectacular spread of land surrounding them. _Ah, what a view. I wish the others were here to see it. When we return we'll have to come back this way. _She decided to stop and give Gallant a rest while she ate her midday meal. 

With a sigh, the dark-haired princess settled herself under the shade of a leafy tree. She was looking forward to her meal, made from the supplies she had bought in the last town she passed through._ Everyone I met in the area told me Jiruans made the best food around--and they were right._ The young girl dug in with enthusiasm, enjoying the freedom to eat how she pleased with no one but Gallant to see her. 

She didn't notice her steed lift his head several times, sniffing the air, as though momentarily alarmed. After a while, he seemed to relax, gradually moving away from his young rider in search of the best grass. Amelia finished her meal with a happy sigh, leaning back against the tree to rest for a few minutes before calling Gallant to her. 

They were both taken by surprise.

The only warning that Amelia had was when the branches above her swished violently. She looked up and reflexively tried to leap out of the way of the dark projectile. A tremendous blow on her shoulder spun her around and knocked her backwards. Her bracelet lit up in a blast of white light, momentarily driving the attacker away. A cry of pain escaped her lips as her head cracked against the tree, and the world went black.

A challenging whinny echoed in the air. Gallant was already on his way to his mistress' rescue, eyes blazing, teeth bared in the manner of a fighting stallion. The horse had scented a few faint traces of the attackers, but trees do not hold scents nearly as long or as well as the earth does. He had known the enemy had been here, but not whether they had been here recently, or if they were still around. Instinctively suspicious, he had not wandered too far away from the girl.

Gallant charged toward the group of vicious felines surrounding her. He plunged in among them, rearing, slashing with his sharp front hoofs, aiming deadly kicks with his powerful hind legs, biting deep gouges when the opportunity presented itself. The most careless of his enemies fell quickly to his fury. Some of them retreated into the woods. 

Amelia slowly came to, her head throbbing in agony. The sounds of a battle going on practically above her made her wince, opening her eyes as tears of pain formed. Everything looked blurry, out of focus. There was a blazing light coming from nearby, which didn't help her sight. She recognized Gallant's white body as he whirled and leaped, somehow managing to avoid stepping on her, fighting the dark shapes that surrounded them.

Gallie! She tried to lift herself up, her concern for her steed overriding the drumming in her head. Her arms wobbled as a surge of dizziness hit her, and the ground came up and hit her painfully in the face. _I must have a concussion. _She managed to move one hand to feel her head, and hissed at the burning sting of the open wound on the back of it. Her black hair was sticky with blood.

The princess managed to turn her face to the side, to try to see what was going on. _They're some kind of animals, I think. At least, they walk on four legs. I've heard of big cat-like animals that attack from trees…leapers, I think they're called. I didn't know there were any around here… Oh, Gallie, look out!_

Amelia screamed as two of the mottled-coated leapers attacked the horse from behind, digging their claws deeply into his haunches. As he whirled to try to shake them off, the remaining leaper was at his throat, opening a great gash and jumping clear. The stallion's scream became a gurgle. He staggered as the other two leapers joined the first to wait. 

"Gallieee!" Amelia's scream became a wail, as the blood-streaked white body collapsed to the ground next to her in stages, first his hindquarters, then his front half, and finally, his straining head was laid to rest. He shuddered, snorted once, and was gone. 

"You vicious brutes!" The dark-haired girl's voice was raw with anguish. She tried again to get up on shaking arms. As the pack of leapers closed in on her, her anger turned to fear, and she screamed. 

*****

Zelgadis was walking behind the other two when he felt twinges of an emotion other than the indecisive numbness that had engulfed him all week. Something was tugging at him, pulling him out of the emotional cocoon he'd been in for so long. His eyes narrowed. _Danger?_

He looked around. Lina and Gourry were in front of him, having a conversation on the pros and cons of different towns they'd passed though, citing which ones had the best restaurants, etc. Aside from the fact that they'd run out of food yesterday, the flat, sandy plain between craggy rock cliffs was peaceful; he'd no sense of danger in the area at all. 

Except…He was nagged by the growing sense that something was not right. He finally recognized it as concern, not for himself, but for…_a young girl? A--Amelia? _He turned his head sharply, almost expecting to see her nearby, in some kind of trouble. 

What are you doing? She's not here. He snorted at his own foolishness. _She's in Seyrune, about to get married to…_ He shoved the thought forcibly from his mind, but it stubbornly came back, insisting that Amelia was in danger. Just then he noticed an odd glow coming from behind him. No--from underneath his cloak. He pulled it aside, and cried out involuntarily as an intense white light emerged, momentarily blinding him. 

"Zelgadis!" Lina came pelting back to him, with Gourry hot on her heels. "What's going on?"

"Some kind of spell!" He reached behind him, and his hard fingers encountered the familiar shape of his canteen. He grabbed it and yanked, breaking the leather strap that attached it to his belt, and flung it away from him. It landed a good thirty feet away, its glow fading. 

He was breathing heavily from reaction. "What was tha--" he began, but cut himself off as Lina made a dash for the canteen. He used his chimeric speed to beat her to it, standing in front of it with his arms thrust out toward her. "Don't touch it!" he ordered, flustered. _Has she gone crazy?_

"It's okay, Zel, I know what it is." Confused, the stone man stepped aside to allow the young sorceress to pick it up. He was even more astonished when she pulled the ward bracelet Amelia had given him off, holding up in the palm of her hand. "Hey, it's not working." 

Gourry asked the same question Zelgadis was thinking. "What's not working?" 

"The bracelet, you simp!" Lina bit her lip, studying the small round metal ball in her hand. Her ruby eyes lit up. "Oh, of course!" She took the chimera's stone hand and turned it palm-upward, placing the bracelet into it. 

Immediately, it flared again, making them all squint, and Zelgadis was conscious that the urgent sense of peril was back, even more powerful than before. He almost dropped it again. "What's going on?" he demanded of the petite sorceress. 

Lina's eyes were worried. "I'm not sure, but…I think Amelia's in danger." 

"What?"

"The same thing happened that time you almost drowned. The ward lit up like a beacon. That's how I was able to find you underwater." 

Zelgadis looked at her with an incredulous glare, under which the young girl, embarrassed, put a hand behind her head. "Ah, well, I guess you had to find out sometime. I figure the ward bracelets were created to call for help if a person wearing one is in danger." She turned concerned eyes to the serene blue sky, watching a fluffy white cloud roll lazily past. "What scares me is, if I'm right, Amelia's in trouble…and there's nothing we can do to help her." The breeze blew a few strands of her red hair over her cheek. 

"She _is _in danger. I can feel it." He closed his hand around the small metal ball, all at once alarmed and frustrated. "What could have happened? Isn't she--" His breath choked off in a loud gasp, as overpowering emotions of fear and helplessness swamped him.

"Zel!"

"Zelgadis!"

Both of his companions spoke at once, alarmed at the utter horror in his eyes. His fist was clenched in front of his chest, with streams of light escaping from between his fingers, creating dark and light streaks across his face. 

"She's terrified! I--I think she's wounded…" His eyes were squeezed tightly shut. "She needs help…head hurts…there's a battle…can't move!…noo!" His eyes snapped open. The pupils were mere pinpoints in a blank white background. "Dead!" His voice broke. 

"Amelia's dead?" Lina screeched hoarsely.

"No…someone else…" A wrenching sob forced its way from his throat. "A great loss…" 

"Where is she?" the fiery-haired sorceress demanded. 

"A long way off…too far. Too far!" With a sharp crack, the chimera punched his stone fist into his other palm. "Argh, she needs my help!" he bellowed in impotent frustration. 

***** 

Amelia only had time to feebly hold up one arm in front of her, palm out, fingers splayed in a useless gesture of self-protection. She screamed in terror as the leapers came at her. Suddenly a flash of pale lavender appeared in front of her, accompanied by a furious snarl. She tumbled backward, assuming it was some new threat. 

When her whirling head cleared, she saw that a powerful-looking beast with glowing green eyes and sharp white fangs was standing between her and the pack of leapers with its back to her. _It almost seems as if it's defending me. I don't know why, but I hope it's not because it thinks I'm its next meal! _What ever the reason, she lost no time in placing both hands to her aching head and chanting, "Recovery!"

One of the leapers made a furious dash toward her, but the great beast slashed at it savagely. It fell back, bleeding from a wound in its chest. As the princess healed, she realized that more of the pack was making its way toward them from the woods. The animals were not really that big--but they had razor-sharp claws on all four feet as well as teeth, and definitely outnumbered her. _Oh, hurry,_ she thought urgently to herself. _Any moment now they're going to try the same trick they used on poor Gallie-- _Her eyes stung with hot tears as she glanced at the still body of the stallion.

"Look out!" the young girl shrieked, as four leapers appeared out of nowhere, covering the

lavender-furred beast. Amelia ceased casting her healing spell, and gathered her strength to attempt a magical attack…but hesitated. What could she do to the leapers that wouldn't hurt the beast? 

She was saved from the decision as the besieged animal executed a phenomenal leap of its own, straight into the rest of the pack. The ones clinging to the beast did a good job of battering their packmates, losing their grips in the process. The lavender beast did not give them time to recover, attacking swiftly, ripping, tearing, slashing, with excellent white fangs. Soon, the entire group, cowards at heart, turned tail and ran, howling their fear and pain.

Shaking, her heart pounding, Amelia knelt on the churned-up earth, trying to adjust to the fact that she was safe. Or was she? She tensed as the great beast turned its pupil-less, glowing green eyes on her. It took a slow step toward her. 

Amelia's voice was wobbly. "Oh, you're not going to try to eat me, are you? I really don't want to have to hurt you…" She unconsciously held her loosely-curled hand in front of her chin. 

The beast stopped, and ducked its head, its eyes dimming to a mere glimmer. The young girl relaxed a little. "Are you trying to be friends?" she wondered aloud. Just then she noticed the spreading smears of blood in the thick lavender fur from a dozen cuts the brave creature had taken in her defense. "Oh, you're hurt!" Biting her lip, she thought, _I wonder if she'd let me heal her?_

The princess barely noticed her mental switch from 'it' to 'she'. She took a good look at her rescuer. The first thing she noticed was that her fur wasn't really lavender--it was white, with light purple highlights, except for a darker streak of purple starting from a point between her long pointed ears, down her back to the base of her fluffy tail. The overall impression was a very pale lavender, or lilac. As for her species…_I've never seen anything quite like her before._ _She looks something like a very big wolf, or fox, but I've never seen a wolf as big as a pony! Her feet aren't paws, exactly; they're more like dragon's feet. And…her head is shaped more like a dragon's. Those eyes…_

The beast was watching her warily. "Um, I want to thank you for saving me." She wasn't sure if she could understand her, but just in case… "You're hurt. I can help you…" Cautiously, her hand trembling, she reached out toward the beast. Emerald eyes followed the path of her hand, but the beast made no attempt to move away. 

"Recovery," Amelia whispered as her hand came within healing distance. As the warm white light surrounded her, the beast jumped a little, a tiny sound of surprise emerging from her muzzle. Blue eyes stared into glowing green ones. Looking deeply into the emerald depths, the young girl could see the gentle soul that lay behind them, and was fascinated. _She really seems to understand me…and she's not afraid. _ In turn, Amelia tried to let the beautiful animal see her gratefulness, and her earnest desire to help. 

For a long minute, Amelia's body was tingling with apprehension, until, with a whimpering groan, the lavender beast suddenly lay down on her stomach. Her eyes took on look of contentment, and the last of Amelia's fear vanished.

*****

"Ah," Zelgadis gasped, staggering. His eyes opened. Gourry moved to grab the chimera's shoulders to steady him. 

"What is it?" Lina demanded. "What's happening?" 

The chimera put a hand to his forehead. "It's--it's gone. It's over." 

Lina and Gourry exchanged horrified glances. Gourry began hesitantly, "You mean…Amelia is--" 

The stone man looked up at them. "No, she's alive. The danger's gone." He was breathing raggedly, his teal eyes bloodshot. His friends both realized that they had never seen him so haggard--not even after their toughest battles. 

They had all undergone minutes of tense waiting, with vague, terse reports from the chimera, mostly repetitions of fear, pain, and grief. Zelgadis had repeatedly spoken of the urgent, futile desire to go to her, to _do_ something about the danger that was menacing her.

Now their friend visibly tried to compose himself, drawing in a deep, shuddering breath. "She's not afraid anymore." His quiet statement seemed to echo within the canyon's walls. 

"Thank goodness," Lina's entire body sagged in relief. Sympathetically, she inspected her stone companion. "Hey, Zel, you wanna take a break? You look _really_ wiped out." 

After a long moment, Zelgadis turned a cold, fierce glare on her. Lina winced at his expression. Even Gourry could sense the crackling tension in the air. "No, I do _not _want to take a break! What I _want_ is for someone to tell me what's going on!" Zelgadis snarled.

Even though the diminutive sorceress was its recipient, she was actually glad to see him showing some spirit at last. 

"Why didn't you tell me about the ward sooner? Did you know about this from the beginning? Have you--"

"Hold on a minute, Zelgadis." Lina held up her hands. "I didn't know anything about that spell until you almost drowned. _Then_ I figured all it waswas a beacon--I didn't know it conveyed _emotion_, too. I'm not sure if Amelia knew, either." She paused, remembering. "When she first started wearing them, didn't she tell us that there was some kind of spell put on them by her ancestors? A spell no one could figure out?" Her voice went husky. "I guess we found out the hard way." She dropped her eyes to the dry earth.

Surprisingly, Gourry ventured an observation, "Um, Lina? Does that mean Amelia was drowning with Zelgadis?" His face wore a rare, serious expression. 

The chimera's bloodshot eyes flashed wide open in shock. "Oh, no… " 

After a stunned silence, Lina turned to the chimera. "I've been meaning to ask you, what exactly did Amelia _say _when she gave you that ward bracelet, anyway?" She tried to hide her burning curiosity under an innocent guise. 

Zelgadis gave her a frown that said 'I know what you're doing'. For a moment, she thought he would tell her to mind her own business, but instead his face took on a bemused look. "She said…she only said that she wanted me to have something to remember her by." Interestingly, he flushed. 

And then she kissed me, he thought privately. _Come to think of it, she did seem a bit dazed at the time…I wonder if the bracelet had anything to do with…_

"Why would she do that?" Gourry asked innocently. 

Girl and chimera exchanged mutual pained glances, and spoke together: "Never mind, Gourry." 

The blonde swordsman blinked.

Suddenly the stress of the last few days, combined with the intense events of the last few minutes took their toll on the emotionally battered chimera. He turned and began walking away from his companions, wanting nothing more than to be alone so he could think. 

"Hey, Zel, where are you going?" Lina called after him. 

He didn't answer. 

Silently, Lina traded glances with Gourry, and they both began following after their troubled comrade.

******************

****

Author's Notes: I've always disliked it when a fanfic author creates a new character (or several) and then makes him/her/them the stars. I've always said "If I wanted to read about original characters, I wouldn't be reading fan fiction!" So while I do introduce several new characters, don't worry; they will not take over the story. I did try to make them feel as real ( 'three-dimensional', my friend and beta reader Shell Presto says) as our heroes, of course…I hope you like them.

Here Amelia gets a few chapters mostly all hers, as the other three aren't doing anything exciting and her 'adventure' lasts only a few hours. Took way longer to tell it than I expected, but I dearly hope people in Zelgadis Withdrawal won't be bored enough to skip ahead or stop reading. 

You might say this is the start of a new storyarc--first we had about seven chapters of Zel/Ame getting acquainted again, then there was the ship's journey, then the Oracle's cavern tales, and now we switch to what Amelia's been up to. My fic tends to divide itself up neatly like that. 

One last thing--I can't draw worth beans and I would dearly love to have a fanpic of Zelgadis as he stands with Amelia's ward bracelet clutched in his fist as it glows with streaks of light through his fingers. I think it would be awesomely dramatic--his fist in front of his face and his expression stricken as he feels what Amelia feels but can't do anything to help her. Shell Presto's site ( Inspiration Stemming From Sleep Deprivation) is hosting my fic and any fanpics people may want to send. Arigatou!


	23. Chapter 23: Shiran's Story

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story--I just like to know someone's interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Note: Here's a guide to help with name pronunciation:

Shiran--Shi-rahn, 'i' as in 'chip'

Sanre--sahn-RAY

Rilloban--RILL-oh-bahn

Gerrik--gehr-rick, 'g' as in 'great' 

Toban--TOE-bahn

Savari--sah-VAHR-ee

Tollik--tol-(rhymes with ball)-ick

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Shiran's Story **

Amelia woke up from a much-needed nap when the furry pillow she'd been using suddenly moved. "Huh?" She sat up, becoming aware of a group of shouting men coming toward her on horses. 

The lavender beast snarled at the men, her thick fur bristling into spikes on her neck and shoulders, her long slender ears laid back and green eyes blazing. She crouched at the princess' side for a moment, then bounded away. Several of the men pelted her with rocks as she ran. "Come back!" Amelia called after her.

The men began to dismount from their horses, surrounding her. Still disoriented from her abrupt awakening, Amelia cringed away from them before realizing that their faces all had identical looks of concern. "Miss, are you all right? You're lucky to be alive!" 

"Huh? Oh, you mean those horrible cats? I know; if it weren't for--"

"No, that wild dragonwolf!" 

"The what?" Amelia blinked. 

Several of the men answered her. "That savage brute!" 

"…dangerous creature…" 

"That huge beast with the light purple fur." 

She shook her head, thoroughly bewildered. "But--but she's not dangerous--when the leapers attacked me she protected me. I would have died if not for her!"

Most of the men looked at her as if they thought she was lying--or crazy. It was enough to trigger her fighting spirit. She clenched her fists. _I'm a princess of Seyrune! What reason would I have to lie? _She almost revealed her identity, but since that usually caused more complications than it solved, she only ground her teeth together and snapped, "I wasn't brought up to be a liar!" She leaped to her feet with her hands on her hips and demanded indignantly, "How do you explain the fact that I'm still alive, if this 'brute' was so 'dangerous'?"

She would have continued to browbeat them on her favorite subject: Do Not Judge Others by their Appearance, but another voice from the crowd interrupted her. "You-you see? Th-that's what I've been s-s-saying all along. It's n-n-not Shiran who's been attacking our flocks--it's the leapers!" 

"Shut up, Rilloban--everyone knows they don't attack on the plains," retorted a short, stocky man with bushy black hair and an aggressive attitude. 

"They don't?" Amelia asked. 

An older man with light brown hair plaited in a short braid answered her. "No. Everyone around here knows that this forest is their hunting grounds--and any fool who chooses to walk among these trees is--" The man broke off, apparently realizing that he was insulting her. He had the grace to blush. 

Amelia scowled. "What about travelers? The least you could do is put a sign up!" 

There was an awkward silence. Then another voice from the crowd shouted, "We wouldn't need to put a sign up if that damned dragonwolf hadn't gone rogue!" 

The crowd exploded into argument, some people trying to calmly state their opinions, some bellowing, red-faced. Suddenly Amelia felt as if she were back home, trying to mediate a complicated, emotional problem. She drew in a breath, about to verbally launch herself into the melee, when another man beat her to it. "All right, quiet down, everyone! Gerrik, Sanre, Rilloban, everyone--_be quiet_!" 

The speaker was the largest man Amelia had ever seen--even larger than her father, though he looked about the same age. His powerful bass voice boomed from a deep, muscular chest. He looked strong and capable, with wise brown eyes, dark red hair and a shaggy orange-red beard. The young princess trusted him immediately. She also felt the crowd's respect for him, as most of them immediately fell silent. Finally, when all the attention was focused on him, the man continued, "I can see that this matter has become a serious one. We must bring this issue to the Council to decide."

Most of the crowd seemed mollified by this. They began to disperse, heading back the way they had come. The red-haired man stepped up to her. "Are you all right, miss?" 

She hesitated, taking mental stock of her current condition. "Yes, I'm fine." The sleep had done her good. 

"Then would you like me to borrow a horse for you to ride back to our village?"

"Oh--Gallant!" The young girl turned, remembering her father's poor horse. He was lying on his side, his noble white body quite still. Great red slashes on his throat and rump displayed the mute evidence of his heroic efforts to save her. 

Her lower lip trembled, and she burst into tears. "Oh, poor Gallie!" She buried her face in her hands. _What will I tell Daddy? _

She felt a large, gentle hand on her shoulder. "Died trying to protect you, did he?" the auburn-haired man asked quietly. She nodded tearfully, looking up at him with watery blue eyes. 

"I'll have some of my men give him a proper burial." His brown eyes showed his sympathy and regret. 

Amelia nodded gratefully. "Thank you…" Her voice trembled. 

The man borrowed a sturdy chestnut mare from one of the other men, and began helping the anguished young girl transfer her supplies from the stallion's body to the mare's. When the task was completed, Amelia knelt beside Gallant's head and tenderly pushed his unruly forelock away from his eyes. "Oh, Gallant," she murmured, "Thank you…I will always remember your sacrifice." She felt her throat closing on the words. "Goodbye, Gallie," she whispered, and stood up quickly. 

With tears streaming from her eyes, which she made no move to wipe away, the young princess accepted the red-bearded man's hand up onto the mare, and took up the reins. 

As they waited for the other men to settle themselves on their horses, the red-haired man said to Amelia, "Forgive my rudeness--I am called Toban. What name shall you be known by?" 

Does he know who I am? Startled out of her tears, she looked closely at him, but he gave no sign that he had meant anything out of the ordinary. _It almost sounded as if he expects me to give a false name. _For a moment she hesitated, but with a toss of her head she replied, "My name is Amelia." _I haven't anything to hide, after all. _

"Amelia." he repeated as the man with the brown plait rode up to them. "Well, Miss Amelia, this is Sanre, my second in command." 

Then another brown-haired man rode up to them. He looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. He shared similar facial features including deep green eyes with Sanre, although his face looked more delicate, and his shoulder-length light brown hair had golden highlights. "Miss Amelia, this is my son, Rilloban." Sanre gestured to the young man.

"Hello, Mister Sanre, Mister Rilloban," Amelia nodded to them. 

"M-miss Amelia…I r-realize that you've been through a lot," Rilloban began hesitantly in a light tenor voice, "but would you m-m-mind if I asked you some questions about Shiran--the-the dragonwolf, I mean?" 

"There he goes again. My son has a one-track mind. If he only devoted this much attention to his studies…or to girls…" Sanre teased affectionately.

"Father," Rilloban groaned. 

"Ril, why don't you ride with Miss Amelia?" Toban suggested. "I'm sure she has a lot of questions, too." 

"Okay," the green-eyed young man replied, moving his sleek black horse alongside Amelia's mare. She smiled at him, and he surprised her by blushing and looking away. 

The group began moving downhill, along a winding path to the west. "You can call me Ril." The young man said, glancing at her shyly. "I'm s-sorry about your horse. It sh-shouldn't have happened. It _wouldn't_ have, if everything hadn't g-gone all _wrong _these past few months!"

In spite of the pang in her heart at the mention of Gallant, Amelia quickly became engrossed in Rilloban's woeful tale. 

"Our v-village, Tollik, is a few miles from here. Most of this plain used to be a s-sheep farm, you see, and Shiran was the flock's guardian." 

"'Shiran' means 'purple orchid', doesn't it? It's beautiful… Why does everyone call her such horrible names? Did something happen to the flock?" Amelia asked. 

"Well, yes, b-b-but--it-it wasn't Shiran's f-fault!" Amelia blinked at his vehemence, and noticed that his stutter got worse when he was upset. The young man caught her glance and visibly tried to calm down, taking a deep breath and letting his shoulders droop. One hand came up to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment. "It's a long story." 

Rilloban explained in a soft tenor, "Y-you see, long before I was born a m-mage named Savari came to live up here. He wasn't your t-typical recluse--he was kindly and wise and everyone respected him. He came to the Council m-meetings, and eventually announced that he had come here because he wanted to do some experimenting. He s-said had always wanted to create a type of sheep that w-would grow colored wool, all the colors of the r-rainbow and more, and save the cloth-makers the work of having to d-dye it." Rilloban smiled sadly. "He also said that he loved the b-beauty of rainbow-sheep grazing in the green f-fields."

"It does sound lovely. I can almost picture it." Amelia closed her eyes for a moment to do just that. 

"Mister Savari wanted to make sure the v-village people didn't object, so that he could use the wool in trade for whatever he needed from town. Eventually they agreed, and for many years our town b-benefited from the exotic wool, which became a m-much-sought-after trade item. He was always very generous in his trades with us, because he had a large flock, and didn't really need much other than f-food, soap, candles and the like, and sometimes extra c-caretakers for his sheep. M-most of our families are well-off because of him."

"It sounds wonderful. But where does Shiran fit into all this?" 

Rilloban turned a grave look on her. "Several years ago the l-local l-leaper pack started getting very b-bold. Even though they usually hunt from t-trees, this whole area has a lot of little grassy m-meadows that sheep like. Mister Savari lost a lot of sheep to them, b-before he decided to create the ultimate guardian."

"_Create? _So then…Shiran is a…" The word stuck in her throat. 

"A chimera." 

As the word struck so close to home, the blue-eyed princess was silent, looking down at the chestnut mane in front of her. She had been absolutely repulsed by the ghastly chimeras under Eris' control which she had fought years ago. It had given her a jolt when she realized that Zelgadis could have turned out like them. 

Rilloban continued, "He n-never would tell anyone exactly which animals he used to c-create Shiran, but I know he wanted her to have a lot of power, with enough intelligence to be able to t-tell friends from enemies. Most people think he used d-dragon for that. I think he used a bit of troll, too, because I've seen Shiran heal much f-faster than usual from injuries. But most of all, he wanted Shiran to be ab-absolutely loyal, and gentle with the sheep and any other helpless creatures, because he didn't w-w-want to end up creating a monster. So we think Shiran is mostly w-wolf."

"No…no human…" She could barely make herself say it. 

"Oh, no, M-mister Savari refused to experiment on humans. He said that was why he'd come here, to create b-beautiful works of nature in peace. The sheep were more or less normal, except for their coloration." 

"Oh," Amelia was relieved. "So then how did Shiran get such a lovely coat?"

"No one knows. I'm n-not sure even Mister _Savari _meant it to come out like that--b-but you're right--it _is_ nice." Suddenly he gave her a charming half-smile, transforming his serious countenance into endearing handsomeness.

"Mister Savari didn't lose a s-single sheep after Shiran became the flock's guardian. Some of our p-people were afraid of her at first, but over the next three years she proved herself." Rilloban's green eyes shone with enthusiasm. "She's amazing--brave and strong and so s-smart sometimes it's as if she can understand everything we're saying. I know a lot of p-people who would've liked to own her, but she was bred to be the ultimate protector, as loyal as can be. I used to help Mister Savari shear sheep wh-when he needed some wool to trade, so I saw a lot of Shiran. We were friends--b-but Mister Savari was her only master." 

"Was?"

Rilloban hung his head, his light brown hair coming forward to hide his face. "Mister S-savari passed away in his sleep a few m-months ago. We-we think he died of old age, but we can't be sure."

Amelia was puzzled by his comment. "What do you mean?"

"Shiran won't let us near the body." A haunted look spread over the young man's delicate features. He continued softly, "For a l-long time I really b-believed Shiran was sentient, but no matter what any of us s-says, she s-still goes on doing what she's been trained and b-b-bred for--p-protection. Even when it doesn't m-matter anymore." 

Amelia had tears in her eyes. "Ohhh, that's the saddest thing I ever heard!" 

Rilloban shrugged sadly. "It gets worse. Not only can we n-not give Mister Savari the kind of burial he deserves; _now _we've got to worry about these animal attacks. P-people k-keep saying it's Shiran, gone savage w-without Mister Savari to lead her. No one will _l-listen _to those of us who can tell from the marks on the b-bodies which kind of animal did it!" 

"Bodies?" Horror was written on her face, in her open mouth and wide blue eyes.

"Herd animals, mostly. Sometimes it's somebody's pet. It's never been a person--yet."

"So now they'll think she's started attacking people because of what happened to me?"

He nodded affirmatively. "Mm."

"Oh." They rode in silence for several minutes; the only sounds were the creaks of the saddle leathers, the thumps of the horses' hoofs on the earth, and the occasional half-heard comment from the line of men in front of them. 

"Um, Mist--Ril?" 

"Yes?"

"Who takes care of the rainbow-sheep now?"

She was immediately sorry she'd asked the question as the young man's face twisted in grief. "N-nobody. Shiran's flock is gone now. Not long after M-mister Savari died, there was an epidemic of some kind among all the f-flocks in the area. Shiran wouldn't let us n-near them to treat them, so they all d-d-died, one after another. The only t-things Shiran guards now are the g-g-graves of the dead."

Amelia's heart ached for all the pain that noble beast had suffered. _And to be misunderstood on top of it all! It's so unjust! _"Poor Shiran. And poor Mister Savari, to die all alone and have all of his wonderful creations lost--or hated!" 

"Well, not quite. I think M-mister Savari knew he didn't have long to live, because the in last year or so he'd b-been trading some of his newborn sheep to our villagers, instead of j-just the wool. As long as Shiran hadn't b-bonded to them she didn't try to steal them b-back. It happened once or twice, b-but Mister Savari figured out ways to prevent that. He w-was the smartest man I ever knew. I r-really m-miss him. He never m-made fun of my s-st-stutter."

Amelia wasn't sure if she ought to comment on that. An awkward silence followed.

Fortunately Rilloban continued after a few moments, "Now that Shiran doesn't even have the sh-sheep to guard anymore, p-people have been afraid she'd go w-wild, and this whole leaper business is just the excuse they've been looking for to 'p-put her out of her m-misery'. They don't _want_ to believe it's not her." 

Amelia stared straight ahead, her eyes unfocused. In her mind's eye she saw again that noble, powerful animal, driving the leapers away with incredible ferocity and then becoming calm and gentle as she allowed Amelia heal the wounds the mottled felines had inflicted. Though the dragonwolf's unusual glowing eyes could look wild and fierce, Amelia had also seen them reflect intelligence and patience. The mental image of Shiran turned to look at her, and her eyes seemed to say, _Please help me._

**************************

****

Author's Note: How do you like Rilloban and the others? They're the first original characters I've created who've have more than bit parts. I drew a couple of pictures of Shiran--I'm much better with horses and dogs than with people--so keep checking back at Shell Presto's site for fanpics! 


	24. Chapter 24: Searching for Shiran

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Note: Here's a guide to help with name pronunciation:

Shiran--Shi-rahn, 'i' as in 'chip'

Sanre--sahn-RAY

Rilloban--RILL-oh-bahn

Kembri--KEM-bree

Gerrik--gehr-rick, 'g' as in 'great' 

Toban--TOE-bahn

Savari--sah-VAHR-ee

Tollik--tol-(rhymes with ball)-ick

****

Chapter Twenty-Four: Searching for Shiran 

As Amelia mulled over Rilloban's words, the chestnut mare Amelia was riding began to wander toward the green grass at the side of the trail as she sensed the princess' inattention. With a firm nudge of her right knee, the girl brought her back to the side of Rilloban's black horse. "Are you the only one who believes Shiran is innocent?"

"No." This question finally drew a smile from the serious young man. "My father Sanre thinks so, too. Mister Toban and some of the others aren't s-sure, but the one who really wants to have Shiran k-killed is Gerrik. He's lost more animals than anybody. Father says it's b-because he's careless and doesn't keep his animals in secure enough areas. I think he's j-just got a mean streak. I heard he tried to get Mister Savari to sell Shiran to him, and when he refused, G-gerrik started trying to turn people against him. Nobody listened to him, then--everyone knew Mister Savari was a t-true gentleman." 

The young man sighed. "It's a shame he's so q-quarrelsome. His daughter, Kembri, is always apologizing for him…sometimes I wonder how as man as b-belligerent as Gerrik managed to have a daughter as sweet as--" 

He broke off, and Amelia smiled to see him blush. _How cute! He has a crush on her._

"Ahem, well, anyway, M-miss Amelia," Rilloban asked her seriously, "Could you tell me--how did Shiran behave toward you? W-was she aggressive? Were you at all afraid of her?"

She tried to recall the events of the afternoon, although it seemed to have taken place years ago, instead of just a few hours. She'd been so disoriented at the time… "I remember…being attacked, lying on the ground, trying to get up with my head feeling like it was about to explode…and then seeing a flash of lilac fur. I think I _was _scared at first--she was so fearsome…but after she drove the leapers away she was so…so sweet and gentle--I just knew she wasn't going to hurt me."

"I _knew_ it!" Triumphantly, Rilloban held up a fist. "I knew she hadn't gone rogue! Oh, th-thank you, Miss Amelia!"

Amelia grinned at his enthusiasm. "If I'm to call you Ril, then it's only just that you call me Amelia."

"O-okay…Amelia." Rilloban grinned back at her. 

When they arrived at the village, Toban stopped his horse and told the others to go on ahead to the town hall. Amelia was surprised when he gestured to her. She moved her mare up alongside his dark brown stallion with an inquisitive look on her face.

The auburn-haired man's face was serious. "Miss Amelia, I'm sure young Ril there has explained what we know of Shiran, and why so many people want her done away with. My personal opinion is that she's innocent, but I have no more proof of that than the ones who claim to be able to see Shiran's own toothmarks in their dead animals. Now, with this latest attack--on a human--I'm afraid that's all they'll need to get the town council's consent to form a hunting party."

Amelia covered her mouth with her hand in horror. _That beautiful, heroic beast killed--because of her? _"But--but she didn't attack me; she _saved _me! I already told you that! What reason would I have to lie to you? Let me speak to the council--I'll _make _them believe me!" 

Toban's face broke out into a huge grin, his rich bass filling the air with his approval. "Good girl! That's just what I was going to ask you. I wasn't sure you'd feel up to it, or if I had the right to ask you to get involved. It's likely to be a very stressful situation. Are you sure you want to?"

Amelia nodded determinedly, growing more and more animated as she spoke. "I cannot stand by while such injustice is permitted to exist. It is my calling in life to stamp it out wherever I find it!" She finished with a flushed face, her index finger pointed toward the heavens. 

Toban looked at her, his face expressionless. Several of the nearby citizens were gawking at her. Such things never used to bother her--as a princess she had pretty much been the center of attention her entire life. However, traveling with Lina's group, especially seeing how Zelgadis reacted to other people's negative gazes--'Staring at me. Always staring at me!'--had made her more aware of the need to behave in a more decorous fashion, at least in public. Too many things could go wrong in negotiations if the wrong people were offended. 

Amelia pulled the offending hand down behind her head, laughing in embarrassment. "Ahem, well I'm ready." 

The town council meeting was as noisy and emotionally heated as Toban had warned. After the first ten minutes of listening to everyone shouting accusations, Amelia was ready to give them a taste of Lina's disciplinary techniques--just grab the offenders in a headlock until they're ready to listen. _Why doesn't someone tell them to be quiet so we can all get a chance to speak? _She looked at Toban, who was sitting near the front of the room.

Finally he did. "All right, Gerrik, you've stated your views--abundantly. Sanre has taken the opposing view, and today a witness has appeared to provide us with a complete event of Shiran's recent behavior. Miss Amelia?"

Amelia stood up and walked to the small platform at the end of the room. She repeated the same tale of her experiences that she had just told Rilloban, focusing only on the most relevant events, leaving out the part where she had used her healing magic, for now. "Shiran is a wonderful, noble beast, and I believe she should be allowed to live in peace!" 

Sanre and some of the others told their parts in discovering the young girl lying beside the dragonwolf, and their surprise when she turned out to be alive. They also noted the recent leaper tracks and evidence of a fight gouged into the earth. 

To Amelia's indignation, Gerrik tried to discredit her integrity. The black-haired man stated, "Why should we believe the word of some unknown waif? Just what were you doing in that forest anyway--trying to steal one of the famous sheep?"

Amelia leaped to her feet, glaring at his sneering face. "How dare you! How could a horrible man like you be on this town's council?"

All around the room there were snorts and fake coughing as people tried to hide their amusement. Gerrik looked around angrily. Suddenly her father's patient lessons came back to her. _Don't let them make you angry. If you respond to their insults, you'll lose control of the negotiations. Instead, try to discover the real wants and needs of each of the parties, and work toward a reasonable compromise. _Amelia realized her instinctive comment had made Gerrik look bad in the eyes of his people. _Maybe if I tried to find out why he hates her so much…_

The room quieted as the young girl simply sat there staring at Gerrik, unconsciously imitating Zelgadis in one of his 'thinking' poses, her loosely-curled hand gently touching her chin. The short, black-haired man shifted uncomfortably under her solemn gaze. "Mister Gerrik, why do you _really_ want to have Shiran killed?"

"Because--" he cut himself off, looking sharply at her. Amelia tried to look innocent, while

watching him carefully for hints. 

"I told you why--she's a menace! We're not safe around here--no one is!" 

"So she's vicious and bloodthirsty, right?"

"Right."

"Then why am I still alive?"

That floored him. 

"Why did she save me?"

No answer.

One of the other men in Gerrik's group spoke up. "Miss, we don't want to murder the beast in cold blood. It's just that these attacks started right after the old mage died--there's too much of a coincidence to ignore. And I for one am not going to risk the lives of my family for a chimera." A thoughtful silence spread through the room as everyone mulled over his cool statement. Toban waited a few beats, then said, "Let the council vote now."

An hour later, Amelia was biting her fingernails in anxiety. "What's taking so long?"

Rilloban was sitting next to her, his golden-brown hair creating a curtain around his face. "It's not a good sign," he answered gloomily. "The council has to consider the safety of everyone in this v-village. People are afraid for their ch-children. To tell you the truth, if I hadn't gotten to know her as well as I did, I m-might be afraid of her, too."

Rilloban's mournful prediction was correct. Ten minutes later, Amelia sat with Rilloban in the empty council room and listened to the verdict with rising horror. '"We have regretfully deemed it prudent to eliminate what we believe is a viable threat from this town. The dragonwolf is to be disposed of by whatever means necessary."' 

"Oh, no!" Amelia cried. "This can't _be_--it isn't right. It isn't _just!" _She began to walk toward the inner chambers, to try to convince them by sheer force of personality, if nothing else, but was stopped by Rilloban's hand on her arm. She looked at it, then up at him in surprise.

"Miss--I mean, A-amelia. Listen…there's n-nothing you can say that will make them change their minds. From their p-point of view they're doing the r-right thing." He looked at her sorrowfully, his long golden-brown eyelashes lowered. "I've s-seen this coming for a long time now. Listen, I…I have a favor to ask of you." He released her arm, looking at her seriously with his deep green eyes.

Her own eyes widened. "What is it?"

Vehemently, Rilloban answered, "I w-want you to take Shiran with you when you leave. She c-can't stay around here any more--even if we got _this_ hunting p-party stopped, there'd be others. And-and besides…I think Shiran m-might be happier somewhere else--somewhere that didn't r-remind her of all of her losses." His soft voice was full of sadness. 

"Ril…" Take Shiran with her to meet Zelgadis and her other friends? Take her to live in the city? "What about you?"

"I love Shiran," the young man admitted softly. "B-but I can't leave my parents to run our farm by themselves. They're getting older--and besides, this is my home. Most of the p-people here are good, hardworking citizens. Like Kembri." He put a hand on her forearm. "Please, Amelia. It's Shiran's only chance."

In years past, Amelia would have agreed instantly, full of outrage for such injustice. _But this is her home, too. _On the spot, the black-haired princess bit her lip, but was saved from having to answer as Toban approached her. 

"Miss Amelia, I've obtained a horse for you to continue your journey. I have arranged for you to have a room at the inn tonight, free of charge, as compensation for your misfortunes."

She hesitated. "Are you all going out after Shiran now?" 

"Yes."

"Then I'm coming with you," she stated firmly, her dark-blue gaze allowing no discussion. The red-bearded man opened his mouth, got a good look at her face, and closed it again. He nodded, and turned to leave. The two young people followed him. 

Amelia was given a gentle palomino mare to ride. The friendly horse nickered and gave her face a gentle nudge when the young princess approached her, her white forelock falling over the large star in the center of her golden head. Gently Amelia stroked her, straightening the forelock. "Why, she's lovely. What's her name?" 

The watching men smiled at her. Toban answered, "Her official name's Golden Charmer, but she has such a nice disposition that most of us call her Sunshine. She's as friendly as can be--likes people better than other horses. Her owner sells mostly plow horses, but Sunny here will do better as a riding horse, so he's decided to loan her to you for a while. You will have to return her within a reasonable length of time."

"Oh, that's no problem--I have to pass here again on my way home." The dark-haired princess easily mounted the long-legged mare.

"Really?" Rilloban rode up to her on his handsome black horse. "W-where are you going, anyway, if you don't mind my asking?" 

"That's a long story." Amelia grinned up at him. "I'll tell you on the way." 

*

Amelia was careful not to reveal her royal identity, sticking to her father's 'incognito' rule, which was basically that you accomplished more if other people were relaxed around you. They were more likely to tell an ordinary stranger their problems, which was exactly the sort of information Prince Phil needed to know.

"So n-now you're on your way to meet the guy you love, and you hope he's b-been cured, so you can get married. And your father set a time limit on this? What a t-terrible thing to do to his own d-daughter!" Rilloban gave her a look of indignation on her behalf.

"Oh, it's not Daddy's fault--he uh, he has obligations. It's not his fault." Smiling nervously, Amelia changed the subject. "Do you see much of your friend Kembri?" 

"Only at school…" Rilloban's eyes widened. "W-why are you asking about _her?" _

Amelia grinned, her eyes sparkling. "I sort of thought she was someone important to you."

The young man looked around, making sure that the other riders were out of earshot. "I g-guess you found me out. I've had a crush on her for a long time, but…well, I've n-never gotten up the nerve to talk to her--to see if she likes me, too. And then there's her father, Gerrik…"

"Oh. But Ril, don't you see, someone has to take the first step. If you don't you'll end up regretting it for the rest of your life!"

Rilloban's light brown hair rippled in the breeze as he considered her words, a serious expression on his face. "I g-guess you're right. I've been making excuses to myself for a long time now…b-but having a stutter isn't nearly as bad as being turned to stone. I--I suppose if your Zelgadis could get up the courage to ask you to marry him, then I can at least t-try to talk to her."

Amelia opened her mouth to correct him, then shut it. She turned away, feeling the heat of shame burn her face. _Who am I to be giving advice on love? I can't even bring myself to tell Mister Zelgadis that I love him, let alone ask him to marry me. _She looked down at the white mane in front of her. _I'm just a coward._

Rilloban noticed her silence, and smiled encouragingly. "Amelia, I've got an idea. If-if Zelgadis hasn't found a cure by the time you catch up to him, w-why don't you bring him to see our village healer when you bring Sunshine back? I j-just went to see her not long ago--I was hoping she could do something about my st-stutter, even though it's not really an illness. You see, her powers have gotten steadily s-stronger over the last year or so. The village elders say it's b-because the Barrier is gone, although I don't understand how just removing a magic wall around our part of the world should have any effect on magical abilities." 

"Oh, well, that's because the Barrier was created by the Mazoku to block Cephied's power." Amelia explained without thinking. "All clerics--white magic users--get their powers from Cephied, you see? And that means with the Barrier gone--" Amelia stiffened as the implications suddenly hit her. For a moment it was as if she'd become a gray stone statue, completely paralyzed. 

Rilloban raised an eyebrow at her. "Say, Amelia, how come you know about all this stuff?" 

The stone seemed to crack apart and fall away, leaving her breathless and flustered. "Oh, oh, well, I--I suppose it's because I'm a shrine maiden, I guess." She laughed awkwardly, her hand behind her head. 

"You're a shrine maiden?" 

She nodded, her head still spinning from her revelation. _I've been so distracted for months now--it never occurred to me that my own powers might be growing! My shamanistic powers might not be affected, but I wonder if I can work white magic at Sylphiel's level now--maybe even Filia's! Think of how much good I could do! _

"And you couldn't cure Zelgadis on your own, huh? He must be under a really powerful curse," the young man said sympathetically.

Amelia looked at him, stunned. _That never occurred to me either. _She didn't answer, looking off into the bright blue sky which she had so admired a few hours ago. _Mister Zelgadis was cursed by the red priest, Rezo, who had a piece of the evil lord Shabranigdo's soul inside him. Miss Lina says it was really Shabranigdo who did such a terrible thing. That would explain why Mister Zelgadis hasn't been able to find a cure. Even if I had magic at Filia's level, it wouldn't be enough to break a spell cast by the Dark Lord, but with the Barrier down, that must mean his chances are even better than I thought! _

Her spirits soaring, Amelia couldn't help herself: "Yes, it _is_ very powerful, but I believe that if your love is pure, and your heart true, nothing is impossible! Justice is on our side!" She stood up in the stirrups, her arm raised high above her head, giving the 'v' for 'victory' sign. It was a good thing Sunshine was so even-tempered, or the princess might have found herself dumped unceremoniously on the ground. 

Rilloban stared up at her, a sweatdrop appearing on his head. "Ah…yeah. Okay. W-whatever you say." 

She sat down, thinking about the various white magic that would have been affected by the Barrier's fall. _Healing spells, exorcisms…nothing that'll help us locate Shiran. Still, I have to try. _"Rilloban," she asked abruptly, making him jump. "See if you can get Toban to let us look for Shiran by ourselves. I can try to locate her with my magic."

Unfortunately, although Toban agreed that breaking up into smaller groups would increase the likelihood of locating Shiran, he decided it wasn't safe to let them go alone. Gerrik and a few other men were assigned to go with them. Sanre, being skilled at footprint tracking, led one of the other groups, and Toban the third. 

Once again, the two young people dropped behind their group so they could talk. Rilloban regarded her with unhappy green eyes. "I think we made it worse. Now we have to find Shiran before the other groups do." 

Amelia stuck out her chin determinedly. "We'll just have to make them see they're wrong to want to kill her. I know I can show them she's not just some crazy wild beast. Let's go tell them about my magic."

********************

Author's Note: Minna, does anybody wonder--

Is the definition between regular Shamanistic magic and magic where you call upon the Lords all that separate? With the lighter end you have Cepheid's 'holy' magic and regular white-Shamanistic, and toward the darker side there's black-Shamanistic and--??? Unholy? 

Now, Lina apparently does both, but no one separates her magic into black and 'unholy', it's all just called 'black'. 

I figure the average person in the Slayers' world doesn't care so much where the power comes from as much as what the results of a particular spell are. Thus anything seen as beneficial would be called 'white', etc. Even people like Lina, who know the difference still tend to use the more general terms--sort of like how she knows 'Dragon Slave' should be 'Dragon Slayer', but even with the mispronunciation the spell still works. That would explain also why Amelia, a 'white' magic cleric, can do so many of the more aggressive spells which are actually listed as Shamanistic by several of the most reliable Slayers websites. 

If that's true, I wonder how many spells that were meant to originally call on the Lord of Cephied are still in use, just diminished in power. People would have long since dropped the parts that mention the Lords' names, if they found that the spell still worked. But that might mean that some of the 'white' magic spells will have unpredictable results now that the Barrier's down--at least in my own interpretation of how the Slayers' world works. 


	25. Chapter 25: A Girl and her Dragonwolf! ...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, just 'cause I like to know someone's interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Chapter Twenty-Five: A Girl and Her Dragonwolf! 

What's the Matter with Zelgadis?

Several minutes later, Amelia was kneeling on the ground, holding a stick out in front of her. The rest of the hunting party was gathered around her. Gerrik had accused her of hiding things from them in the council meeting: "Maybe she used her powers on the beast to keep it from attacking her." 

"Be quiet, Gerrik--you got the verdict you wanted. Now leave it be," one of the other men reprimanded him. 

Amelia set the stick endwise on the earth and closed her eyes, trying to feel for Shiran's location. _I've never done this for real--only in practice. How did Sylphiel do it? Maybe it's like the way it feels when I use my bracelet. Oh, please…_She relaxed her muscles, trying to breathe slowly and evenly, delving deep inside herself. Suddenly, it was as if a map had opened up in front of her, all around her. There were hundreds of life-forces all over, several very near, more farther away, spread out over the land like a black, featureless map with bright pins stuck in it. 

She could even sense her distant friends--they were particularly vivid pinpoints of color. Lina was a fiery red, Gourry a soothing rich yellow-gold, and Zelgadis a cool bluish-purple. With her eyes half-closed, she turned her head unconsciously, like a dolphin using radar, and noticed her father's vivid, royal blue, and Kerrin's warm peach color. She sensed the colors of the men nearby--Rilloban's bright green, Toban's rich mahogany, even Gerrick's surprising royal purple. _I'd have thought he'd turn out to be an ugly brown, or a nasty greenish-yellow. _She could also sense Shiran, a fiery silver-white pinpoint with lavender edges. 

Amelia released control over the muscles in her arms and hands, allowing them to nudge the stick in the right direction. It fell over with a dull thump, making Amelia open her eyes, feeling a little muzzy as if she'd been woken up from a deep sleep. "That way." She pointed in the direction the stick had fallen. Everyone wordlessly got on their horses, and let her take the lead. 

As they rode, Amelia thought about what she had learned. _It's nice to know I can find my friends without the bracelet if I have to…at least their general direction… I wonder what all those colors mean? Especially Mister Gerrik--I feel he's a good man underneath, in spite of how he acts._

A short time later one of the men spotted fresh tracks. Soon after that, the dragonwolf's pale coat was spotted through the trees. "There she is!" Gerrik pointed.

"Shiran!" Amelia called, hoping she would come to her. The beautiful creature hesitated, giving her a longing sort of look, then bolted. They gave chase, pounding after her, their horses dodging trees and each other. "Fan out!" Gerrik shouted. The men obeyed, moving their horses to the sides, with Amelia in the center, Gerrik and Rilloban on either side of her. 

The dragonwolf had lightning-fast reflexes, but she had not been created with long-distance speed in mind. Slowly the horses gained on her. Suddenly Shiran swerved.

"She's heading for the river!" one of the other men shouted. 

"Cut her off! We won't be able to catch her if she dives in!" Gerrik bellowed. 

The men turned their horses, but Shiran managed to slip between two of them. Part of Amelia cheered for Shiran. Then she recalled Rilloban's words: _If not this group, then another. _Her face grew solemn as she realized that she was going to have to intervene before someone got hurt. As they approached the river Amelia raised her arms and called out "Laphas Seed!" 

Instantly Shiran was entangled in a multitude of enchanted ropes, rendering her motionless, her muzzle frozen in a defensive snarl. Only her eyes moved. _Wow. _Amelia thought. _My magic really _has_ gotten stronger. That spell took no effort at all._

"We got her!" one of the men yelled in triumph. 

Amelia dismounted, walking slowly toward her. "It's all right, Shiran…everything's going to be okay."

"What are you doing? Get away from her!" Gerrik ordered, seizing his heavy wooden spear from its holder on his saddle. 

"Move it, girl! Get out of the way!" another man yelled.

Amelia stood in front of the captured animal, her arms held out to the sides. "No! You can_not _kill her! It's not right!" 

"I'll move you myself!" Gerrik leaped down from his horse, his face dull red with anger. He began to come toward her. Amelia hesitated. Normally she didn't fight other humans, except for bandits and the occasional assassin or warrior. These men were simple townsfolk--frightened, obnoxious, but not evil. _If only I could get them to calm down, I know I could--oh! That's it! _

She whispered, "Megido Flare."

Everyone in the clearing, Shiran included, suddenly relaxed. Amelia sighed as the emotional atmosphere cleared. _Thank goodness my tutor reminded me about this spell not long ago. Getting rid of people's negative emotions does wonders for negotiations! But it may not last long. I want to find out-- _"Mister Gerrik, why do you want to destroy Shiran so much?"

His shaggy black head turned toward her. The princess was surprised to notice that without his habitual scowl, he was actually quite distinguished-looking. His face gradually took on a somewhat sad look. "Because I don't want her to suffer, the same way I did when my wife died."

"W-what?" Rilloban looked astonished. 

"I understand how she feels. When my wife died, the light went out of my life. If not for my daughter, I probably would have committed suicide. Kembri was only a few years old at the time, and needed so much attention…and gradually she brought me back to life again. She was always so happy, full of smiles…I learned to enjoy life again through her. 

"Now that even the sheep are gone, Shiran has no one. When Mister Savari created Shiran, I wanted her, badly…she is so breathtaking, so exquisite…nothing so beautiful should have to feel the same pain that I went through." 

"But-but how do you know how she feels? She's a m-magnificent animal, b-but she's not human. She doesn't th-think the way we do!" Rilloban protested. "I know. All she w-wants is someone to protect."

"I wish I could believe you." Gerrik's face held real regret. "But she's never bonded with anyone but Mister Savari. I--"

"Y-yes, she has!" Rilloban interrupted eagerly. "She protected Amelia from the start! If Amelia encouraged her, I'm sure Shiran would want to be with her, even if it m-meant leaving town with her. And _then_ you wouldn't need to kill her!" 

All the men began speaking, each voicing their opinions, but the dark-haired princess noticed a definite change in the ambience--without the influence of pride-induced anger. Finally, Gerrik turned to Amelia. "Would you be willing to leave right now, and keep Shiran away from our town?" 

Amelia looked over her shoulder at the waiting dragonwolf, who was watching everything that went on with alert green eyes. _I don't know if this is the best thing for you, but it seems I have no choice. I just hope you're happy with me. And that you can adjust to living in a city. _"I--I guess so. But how will I control her? I can't have her attacking everyone who approaches me." 

Rilloban touched her forearm. "I can teach you the signals Mister Savari used to command Shiran. If she's r-really bonded to you she'll want to do whatever it takes to please you." 

"I will tell Toban and the others we allowed you to take Shiran with you," Gerrik said. "If we haven't seen a sign of you within two days, we'll return to Mister Savari's farm and give him a proper burial." 

"I see. Oh, wait--what about Sunshine?" Amelia had been looking forward to the mare's cheerful presence to dull the ache inside where Gallant used to be. 

"You can release her near the town on your way back. She'll find her way home."

Amelia nodded. "I'm sorry if I sound rude, but could you please leave now? Even though I don't believe she would intentionally hurt you, it might not be a good idea to have anyone with me when I release her." 

"You're probably right." Gerrik gestured to his men. 

Rilloban shook his head, his light brown hair swishing around his face. "I'm not afraid of Shiran. And I p-promised to show Amelia how Mister Savari controlled her." 

They looked at Amelia, who nodded. "It should be all right." 

The men left. As soon as they were out of sight, Rilloban turned to her with the happiest look she had seen on his face so far. "We-we did it! Oh, thank you, Amelia!" 

She couldn't help smiling back, though she felt the new weight of responsibility settle on her shoulders. "Okay, stand back. I'm going to let her out now." She canceled the spell, and knelt on the grass in front of the dragon wolf, holding out a hand, palm-up. "Shiran," she crooned. "Come here, girl…" 

The great lavender-furred animal took one step back, then another. "Shiran…" Amelia said in a singsongy tone. Shiran stopped. Her eyes dimmed. Amelia, sensing her indecision, continued to 

call her name softly, putting as much affection as she could into her voice. Shiran whined softly, took a step forward, and then another. A shudder ran from the tip of her large purple nose through the streak of darker purple fur on her back to the end of her thick, bushy tail. Slowly, step by step she came to Amelia, until girl and beast were nose to nose. Her large wet tongue emerged and gave the princess' face a lick. 

Amelia giggled and reached up to sink her fingers into the luxuriously thick lavender fur on the side of her neck. "Shiran," she whispered, feeling a large warm spark ignite in her heart, as all her reservations fell away. _You chose me. _Somehow the young girl knew that with that simple gesture this beautiful beast had given her absolute loyalty.

*

The commands were easy to learn. Rilloban demonstrated them, and it astonished Amelia to see how willingly--almost eagerly--the dragonwolf obeyed her. When the princess admitted her astonishment, Rilloban answered with a smile, "She's happy to be working again. Like m-most people, she needs to feel needed. And you can always teach her new signals if-if you need to--even some stuff j-just for fun. Like 'sing out'." 

"Sing out?" Amelia repeated. She nearly jumped out of her boots when Shiran gave a short, loud howl. Then she sat there looking very pleased with herself, her eyes back to their usual bright glow. Rilloban laughed at Amelia's startled expression. 

Amelia couldn't help but notice how cute he was when he smiled. "You should laugh more often. You're too serious," she said impulsively. 

Rilloban ducked his head, blushing a little. "Everybody says that. I can't help it--I'm a w-worrier."

Amelia grinned. "Maybe Mister Gerrik's daughter Kembri can cheer you up."

The young man blushed harder. "Well, at least I know her father's not so b-bad after all. I w-won't feel so self-conscious the next time I see her."

"Good for you." Amelia gave him a quick hug goodbye. "I probably won't be able to come back here, but you can expect me to write to you. And I want to know every detail about what happens between you and Kembri!" she grinned, climbing up into the saddle on Sunshine's golden back. She signaled Shiran to stay with her. "Shiran, flank." 

"Goodbye, Amelia. I'm sure Shiran will be happy with you. And thank you again." The smile he gave her was happy, his green eyes peaceful.

Amelia waved to him as she guided Sunshine out of the clearing with her knees. _Ah, another _

happy ending. Justice triumphs once again! 

*

"I'm worried about Zelgadis, Gourry." Lina confessed as they followed behind the chimera, dropping her pace so they would be far enough away for a fairly private conversation. 

"Why?"

"Come on, Gourry, you've seen how quiet he's been lately. Even more than usual. Something's bothering him." She looked up at him, her face showing her concern. 

"Well, he _did _fail to find his cure. It's only natural that he'd be upset," Gourry pointed out. 

"But we've been in situations like this before. He's usually more angry, and twice as determined after a failure. Now it looks as if he's just…given up." 

"Poor Zelgadis. Isn't there anything we can do to help him?" 

"I don't know, Gourry. But we have a bigger problem." She stopped walking to let Zelgadis open up some more space between them. 

"Huh?"

The diminutive sorceress tugged on his yellow hair to make him bring his head down to her level. Lowering her voice, she whispered, "Amelia's wedding, remember? If Zelgadis isn't human, he can't marry Amelia." 

Her blonde companion turned wide light blue eyes on her. "Oh, yeah. And we're all out of clues. What are we gonna do, Lina?" 

She said quietly, "Zelgadis never actually _said_ the Oracle told him there was no cure. It could be that there _is _one, but that it involves some kind of sacrifice, like making him human in exchange for his soul, or something. That would explain why he's so down--what could be worse than being told that your goal exists, but that you'll never be able to reach it?" 

Gourry was silent, looking sadly at his dejected friend. 

Lina let go of his hair. "He's never been this bad before. Sure, he gets depressed, but he usually shakes it off after a while. I've even given him a few of my famous 'pep talks', but it's like talking to a wall. He doesn't respond--I'm not even sure if he hears me. I even threatened to fireball him the other day to get him to wake up, but he just gave me this sad smile and said, 'Go ahead.'"

She turned to look at the figure in tan walking slowly ahead of them. "He hasn't been _this_ bad since we first met. But then, he had some hope. Now…it's like his fire's gone out." Lina closed her eyes for a moment, shutting out the image of her forlorn comrade. 

The feel of Gourry's arm across her shoulders made her jump and open her eyes to see him smiling tenderly down at her. He didn't say anything, but somehow the little reminder of how much he cared for her made her feel better. She gave him a small smile to let him know she appreciated it, and relaxed against him for a moment, drawing comfort from his closeness. _What would I do without you, Gourry? _

"What are we gonna do, Gourry?" she murmured aloud.

"Maybe we should've asked the doorman." 

She resisted to urge to throttle him, realizing that he was trying to be helpful.

*****************

****

Author's Note: One of the things that makes Shiran want to trust Amelia despite of her role in chasing and capturing her is her vague memory of when Amelia healed the wounds made by the leapers. It reminds her of how it felt when her old master used to heal her--a familiar, good feeling. Shiran is not quite sentient--but she is an amazingly smart animal. 

I'm trying to show Amelia slowly maturing, by introducing small changes in her thoughts and attitudes that would have been out of character for the 14-year old Amelia, but she's still the same person, with the same likes and dislikes, just getting a more realistic view of the world. For example, I think the young Amelia would have agreed to keep Shiran without thinking through the potential problems, but now she's realizing how her decisions will affect others, including Shiran. 

Now on to one of the most dramatic in my story--I can't tell you how many times I rewrote it. Enjoy the ride! 


	26. Chapter 26: Zelgadis' Cruel Dilemma,, ...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story--I just like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

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Chapter Twenty-Six: Zelgadis' Cruel Dilemma /

What Are You Doing Here, Amelia? 

Zelgadis walked for a while through the rocky canyon, ignoring the fact that Lina and Gourry were following a good distance behind him. He could occasionally make out their murmured comments to one another, and knew they were still concerned about him, but it was very tempting to allow himself to sink back into the mental numbness that had comforted him for the last week. Tuning out, Gourry would have called it. Except that for some reason the intense emotional surges he'd experienced when Amelia was in danger seemed to have acted as a release for a lot of the pent-up emotions he'd been fighting all week. For the first time in days, he was thinking clearly. 

*

Days earlier, Zelgadis had spent what seemed like hours walking slowly out of the Oracle's temple, his thoughts a confused jumble that went around in circles. _Amelia loves me. How can she? She shouldn't…she can't really love me…can she? To have my cure within reach…but if I ask her to cast the spell she'll get hurt and it'll be my fault, so I should try to find someone else to cast it oh right the Oracle said whoever casts it has to love me, so I should try to find a powerful shrine maiden and…no, that won't work. But Amelia loves me. She shouldn't-- I don't want to put her in danger…but to finally be human again… _

His mind was an agonizing battlefield of a type he hadn't experienced since Rezo's death. It brought back the same raw, conflicting emotional turmoil he'd undergone just after his grandfather had cursed him. At the time, he'd alternated between suicidal despair and helpless rage at the hand fate had dealt him. 

Almost immediately Rezo had begun sending him on assignments--and praising him lavishly when he'd returned successfully. Though Zelgadis hated the man bitterly, he could not help responding to the praise, which he'd never received as a human. His one other comfort was that Rezo had indeed kept his promise--Zelgadis had more power than he'd ever dreamed of. 

Gradually, the chimera had developed an impenetrable shell to guard his most vulnerable feelings, buried deep inside his heart where no one could touch them. He did his job, taking out his anger on those who opposed him, and quieting the despair with thoughts of Rezo's death at his own hands. That shell had developed some cracks when he'd met those few people to whom he had ultimately given his loyalty; the few he called friends. 

This time he was reeling from the double impact of: _Does she really love me? _and _At last--my cure! Do I dare use it? _He was torn between two powerful desires; his old deep aching need to be human, and the equally strong urge to protect the young princess at all costs. 

Gradually, the stone man had retreated mentally from the dilemma, unable to concentrate, his thoughts cycling inside his head until they made him dizzy. _Later, _he thought. _I'll deal with it later. First I've got to find Amelia._

When he'd emerged, and Lina had begun pelting him with questions, he had retreated even further inside himself, focusing only on the tasks at hand, gratefully retreating into sleep when he could, though he was often plagued by nightmares that left him shaky and sweating through the tiny pores in his stone skin when he tore himself out of their grip. He longed to have one of the rare good dreams, the ones he suspected might be from his connection with Amelia, where all you needed to be happy was to believe that life was wonderful and all goals were possible if you had hope. 

Lina had approached him several times, demanding to know what the Oracle had told him, but although he knew he was risking getting fireballed, he refused to answer until he had sorted everything out in his own mind first. All he would tell her, his voice void of emotion, was that they were returning to Seyrune. "I promised Amelia I would be there for her wedding ceremony." 

*

One side of the canyon had a deep gulf, with a large stone cliffside jutting over it. The air was filled with the lonesome whisper of the constantly blowing wind. As if drawn to it, Zelgadis walked to the edge and looked down the steep descent. Slowly, his expression hardened. _I've been feeling sorry for myself for long enough. It's time I got my act together. Before Lina applies a little 'motivaton'._

He sighed and slowly lowered himself to sit, his legs dangling over the edge._ I'm surprised she's been this patient. I wonder if she knows what's really going on with Amelia--that would explain a few things. Hmph. The one time Lina behaves like a female--meddling in other people's love lives. I wonder whose idea this whole thing was, anyway? If--if Amelia really _does_care for me, why didn't she just tell me outright before I left? _

The thought of the raven-haired princess doing just that made his mouth feel dry. The chimera reached for his canteen, and swallowed several mouthfuls of the lukewarm liquid. His eye was caught by the ward bracelet, the small dark-blue metal ball dangling by its soft pink cloth band on the string that connected the canteen's lid to the bottle.

Zelgadis set the bottle down without putting on the cap, watching the bracelet swing around and tap against the side of the canteen. Slowly he reached for it, and cradled it in his palm. He had a decision to make, and the meaning imbued in this bracelet would count heavily toward his conclusion. 

Brief flashes of memory flickered behind closed lids: 

__

I want you to have something_ to remember me by!_

__

Zelgadis, please don't go

You're not a monster

You're very special to me

I really want you to be there

I'll miss you

Promise me you'll come back--no matter how this turns out… 

He frowned thoughtfully down at the yawning gulf below him. _I suppose she was trying to let me know how she felt, but how was I to know? A year ago I would have dismissed it as just a young girl's crush. And now…now, I don't know what to think. Or to feel. I…I do care about her…she's one of the few people I trust without reservation. _

Resting his elbow on his leg, Zelgadis put his face in his hand, covering his eyes. _But she's so young. Physical age often has nothing to do with mental age. Look at Lina. Only a year older than Amelia, yet half the time she acts like a shrewd thirty-year-old. _

Unconsciously Zelgadis rolled the small metal ball between his fingers. _Two years ago I would have had no trouble sacrificing Amelia, or any of them, to get my cure. Not without regrets, but I would have believed it was necessary. I've changed in the past two years…I hadn't even realized how much until just now. _He almost chuckled as he realized that his self-image was still that of the 'heartless, mystical swordsman', as an intimidated opponent had once referred to him. 

Or is it Amelia who's changed? I remember how I thought of her when we first met…she was childish and innocent and got in the way more often than not…someone who needed looking after. I still tend to think of her like that when I remember her…she still acts more like a child than…It's still so difficult to believe that she's old enough to be married. 

Do I have the right to ruin her life for the sake of my cure? He had a sudden flash from one of his nightmares: himself, human at last, ready to commit his heart and his life to Amelia, only to discover her lying motionless on the floor, or worse, a babbling madwoman. Though his body was stone, he still felt the chill of fear that went down his spine. _I can't let that happen. I couldn't bear to see anything happen to her…_

He blinked, his blue-green eyes widening. _Can it be that I value Amelia over my cure, my life's goal? _He drew out the golden sphere the Oracle had given him. _I've wanted this for so long…I've imagined what it would feel like to hold my cure in my own hands. To have hair instead of wire, to be able to walk in public without being stared at like a freak, to be able to touch someone and not have to worry if I'm hurting them…_

The chimera held the two spherical objects, one in each hand, looking back and forth between them. _Why should I have to choose? _he thought bitterly. He looked at the golden orb. _I need a powerful worker of white magic who loves me to use this, but Amelia stands to risk losing her mind during the casting._

Now he gazed at the ward bracelet, engraved with a star--Amelia's token of affection. _Do I have the right to ask her to risk her sanity? Does she deserve to have to make a choice like that? To be faced with the opportunity to help me regain my human form, especially if she really does care for me…To have to decide whether to refuse, or accept…and risk madness. _He knew she would choose to help him. It was her nature. 

The idea was horribly tempting, and he hated himself for even considering it. True, the Oracle said she believed Amelia would be able to handle it, but she herself had admitted she couldn't predict the future. If there was even a small chance that the spirited dark-haired girl might get hurt… 

A mental vision of Amelia dancing gracefully to his guiolin music caused a surge of protectiveness to rise up inside him. Then another image intruded, that of her dying in his arms during the battle with Phibrizzo, her last whisper reassuring him that she was okay, she was fine… He'd tried to block that moment out of his memory, but in dreams he had relived that moment of searing emotional pain over and over. He had never wanted to kill anyone, not even Rezo, as much as he'd wanted to kill the Hellmaster. 

She loves me. If the Oracle's right, she wants to marry me. The chimera me, or the human me? he wondered bitterly. _Of course she plans to marry the human--that's obvious. She didn't spend months searching for a cure or send me on this journey because she wanted to walk down the aisle with a half-human freak. Or one-third human, anyway. _

Sometimes I wonder if I'm even that much human. The things I've done…few real humans have that kind of blackness in their souls. He couldn't stop the shudder that ran through him, feeling the taint on his soul as never before, a vision of the innocent, smiling princess rising up before his eyes. _How could I even think of contaminating her with such filth? _He grimaced in self-hatred. 

Unconsciously, he was punishing himself for his past crimes, doing penance the only way he could, by refusing even the happiness of a dream-life with Amelia. _She deserves someone better. Someone who would be more capable than I of giving her the support she needs, someone who hasn't spent half his life serving evil masters. _He pressed his lips together, his eyes suddenly hot with rare tears. A single drop escaped, coursing silently around the stones on his face to drip on the fist closed in his lap. He didn't feel it, but his sharp hearing caught the 'tap' of water on stone. 

Carefully Zelgadis closed his fist around the bracelet, realizing that he had already made his decision. He contemplated the golden orb, and was seized with the sudden violent urge to hurl it away from him, far into the gulf below, but the one last tiny spark of hope that he would someday be able to use it made him pocket it instead.

The stone man gazed out over the gorge, grieving inside at the loss of his last chance to be human, and of the vague dream of a normal life--a wife, and family… but even as he mourned for a life that would never be, he felt a new strength growing inside. 

I will never be human again, he thought with an odd mixture of sadness and solace, _but at least I can still behave like one. I have my friends to thank for that. At least this time, it was my decision to make. _A hint of a smile appeared on his lips._ And I won't have to beg Xellos for help, either. _

The wind picked up again, running invisible fingers through his silvery wire hair as it glittered in the sunlight. _I'm sorry, Amelia…the one gift I can give you is a normal life. _The thought brought with it some unexpected comfort, a sense of security in the knowledge that he was doing the right thing. _I wonder if this is how Amelia feels when she's dispensing 'justice'? _he conjectured from his new perspective. 

The shiny silver-blue strands of his hair moved slightly in the stiff wind like a cat's whiskers as he gazed down at the rocky depths of the canyon, his eyes reflecting the new inner calm that slowly filled him. It was the most painful decision he'd ever had to make, but now that he was past it, he was able to think about the future. 

The chimera looked down at the ward bracelet; a reminder of his commitments. _If not for my promise to return this bracelet to Amelia I could go anywhere I wanted. _He sighed mentally. _I'm afraid she's not going to be happy when I return as a chimera. _He winced at the mental image of her bawling all over him, and shoved it to the back of his mind. 

But after that…where should I go? He felt a flicker of interest stir. The stone man had never really made any kind of plans for a life after his cure--his future was a clean slate. _I'll think about it on the way back. _

Standing up, he turned to see Lina heading toward him, a determined look on her face. "All right, Zelgadis, that's enough moping around! You've wasted enough of our time--don't forget that we're on a deadline here!" 

"You're right," he answered evenly, surprising her speechless. "We've got to get moving if we're going to make it back in time for Amelia's wedding." He turned away and started off at a brisk pace before she noticed the momentary look of pain that had flashed across his face. _Her wedding. To someone else. _

"Zelgadis?" The red-haired sorceress followed him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he answered calmly, his emotions more or less on an even keel at last. 

"Oh. Well…that's good." 

He almost smiled at her bewildered expression.

__

Gourry joined them. "Glad to see you're feeling better, Zel. We were really getting worried about you."

"Thank you." Zelgadis gave him a smile, only slightly melancholy around the edges. He suddenly realized: _At least I haven't lost everyone. _

The trio traveled rapidly, passing out of the mountainous area and into more arable land over the next ten days, for which his companions were exceedingly grateful. Lina was pleased at her friend's emotional improvement, although she found herself wishing at times that he had not also recovered his acerbic wit.

At the first inn they came to, Zelgadis' sharp ears could hear the seams of Lina's clothes creak as they strained to hold together after her eight-course meal. "You'd better watch out, Lina," he warned, only half teasing, "Your clothes just may fall right off you."

To his puzzlement, for some reason Lina shot a quick, wide-eyed look at Gourry, and went bright red. Then she stood up and announced that she was going up to her room to 'turn in early'. Both men watched her leave. Zelgadis looked at Gourry as if to say, 'what's up with her?'. Gourry shrugged.

*

Amelia could hardly contain her joy. _They're around here somewhere; I can feel it. _She patted Sunshine's neck, and grinned at Shiran loping easily nearby, tongue lolling. The top of the dragonwolf's head reached halfway up Amelia's shin as she rode the tall golden mare. 

It's a good thing Sunny's so sweet-tempered. I was worried at first that she might be scared of Shiran. She was_ awfully suspicious at first, but I guess Shiran smells and acts enough like a farm dog that she was able to get used to her pretty fast._

Suddenly Shiran lifted her long tapered ears, assuming an alert pose. _Uh oh. _"Shiran, flank!" Amelia commanded, using the accompanying hand signal that meant 'stay with me'. 

I don't want her threatening my friends. It would be awful if someone got hurt. She had learned the hard way that Shiran usually bounded off to confront anything suspicious. After the first time, when she'd waited worriedly with Sunshine for over an hour, she had realized that it was natural for the large guardian to investigate everything in the area. 

Amelia got used to her comings and goings, discovering that the dragonwolf apparently hunted small game on her expeditions, which was just as well. She didn't really feel like watching that, and it did save money, which was nice. _I'm starting to think like Miss Lina. As if I need to worry about how much it costs to feed--_

"How much further until we get to the next town, Lina?"

"How the heck should I know?"

__

It is _them! _Amelia thought excitedly. "Shiran, remain!" she said and signaled. Then she swung down from Sunshine's back. "Miss Lina? Mister Gourry?" She jogged through the woods, peering through the dense foliage.

"Did you hear that, Lina?" the princess heard Gourry ask. Amelia changed her direction, moving toward where his voice was coming from, and caught a glimpse of Lina's fiery-red hair. 

"Yeah, it sort of sounded like--" 

"Miss Lina! Mister Gourry!" The dark-haired girl burst from the bushes, making a beeline for her friend. She threw her arms around the older girl, almost knocking her to the ground.

"Oof!" Lina gasped. 

"Amelia? Where did you come from?" Gourry asked, since Lina was too busy trying to catch her breath. Amelia turned and gave him a quick hug, too. 

"Is something wrong in Seyrune?" the red-haired sorceress demanded. 

"Oh, no, I just…hey, where's Mister Zelgadis?" Amelia's black hair flapped around her face as she looked quickly around the little clearing. He wasn't there. A sudden chill washed over her, as the terror of the ward-bracelet vision came back to her. _Was I wrong about him recovering?_

She saw Lina exchange glances with Gourry, then look away as if she was afraid of meeting Amelia's gaze. Their reactions frightened her even more. She paled, a violent tremor beginning in her hands. "No. Oh, no…he…he isn't…he can't be--" she couldn't finish. Her eyes filled with tears. 

Gourry looked at her, puzzled. Too late, Lina realized Amelia had the wrong idea. Belatedly, she said, "Amelia, wait a minute."

The dark-haired girl took little notice of her words, beginning to weep hysterically, her hands coming up to cover her mouth. "He can't be dead! He just can't be!"

"Who's dead?" Zelgadis had emerged from the bushes, carrying a piece of bark with assorted berries and mushrooms on it. 

Amelia's head snapped around. "Mister Zelgadis?" Her look of surprise swiftly changed to one of joy as she began running to him, the tears lifting from her face into the air in a shower of sparkles. "Oh, Mister Zelgadis!" she cried, half laughing, and threw herself at him. 

"Amelia? Wha--" was all the startled chimera had time to say before she leaped up and flung her arms around his neck. Reflexively dropping the food, his arms came up and caught her lightly, supporting her upper and lower back as he pulled his head to the side so his hair wouldn't scratch her. Even through his stone skin he could feel the strength of her embrace. Awkwardly, he looked past her raven hair at his two companions and raised his stony eyebrows to ask what was going on. Both of them shrugged, looking as astonished as he felt. 

"Thank goodness you're all right." With most of her weight on the chimera's lower arm, her legs dangling like a little girl's, Amelia shifted her grip, interlacing her fingers behind his neck and leaning back so she could look him in the eye. Her own dark blue ones were shimmering with affection. "I've finally found you," she said softly. 

Zelgadis stared back at her, his eyes wide. He had almost forgotten how beautiful her smile was. If not for his chimeric strength his knees would have buckled. 

Lina blinked at the sight of the slender chimera easily carrying the affectionate princess. She knew he was many times stronger than Gourry, despite his somewhat elfin appearance, but it was still a strange sight. The young girl was more or less sitting on his forearm, with his hand lightly curled around her thigh. Neither of them seemed to notice, seemingly caught up with gazing into each other's eyes. 

Gourry watched in amazement as Amelia attached herself to Zelgadis. He could see the other man was surprised to receive the affection--as far as Gourry knew, Amelia had never hugged the chimera before. _Somehow I doubt anybody's hugged Zelgadis in a long time._ The blonde swordsman couldn't help smiling as he watched Zelgadis' expression fade from astonishment to a kind of wonder, as the two of them gazed at each other. _I knew I was right. He does love her._

After a moment, Lina recovered enough to comment, "Are you sure that's really where you want to put your hand, Zelgadis?" She was only half-joking, as Amelia's modesty switch was apparently off. _I don't want him getting any ideas. Yet._

Both of them froze as they stared at each other, matching blushes coloring each of their faces. 

Just then the chimera's pointed ears twitched as he picked up the sound of an approaching predator. Instinctively he swung the startled princess around behind him with one arm, drawing his sword with the other. Just in time--a huge lilac-white creature with glowing green eyes was advancing toward him, its lips drawn back to show sharp fangs, a fierce snarl sending chills up his back in spite of his bite-proof skin. 

*******************************

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Author's Notes: For those of you who don't remember the beginning of my story, (I know, it's been a long journey, and we're not over yet! Not by a long shot! ^__^) this is the scene at the very beginning (taken from the end of Try) where Zel sits on the edge of a cliff, takes a drink from his canteen, and looks at Amelia's bracelet with such a serious look on his face. So we've come full circle at last. 

I knew it was going to take most of a chapter when it came time for Zelgadis to make his decision...and it meshed well with the cliff scene, besides being kind of lonely and dramatic and beautiful, with Zel looking down over the valley...literally fighting a battle for his life/happiness, for all that it's internal. 

Tibiris said in a review that Zelgadis seemed suicidal in the last chapter. I was going for mentally closed down, depressed, numb, but I suppose that might describe how a suicidal person feels…I'm not prone to depression, but since Zelgadis is, perhaps he might feel suicidal in a situation like the one he's in… Hmm. I guess I see him as someone who has too strong a hold on life to give up--at least not for long. He fights back.

And AllisterH pointed out that if white magic has increased, then Sylphiel should be stronger now than Lina. You're right…but how can you compare a healing spell to, say, a Dragon Slave? They're in such different catagories…and Sylphiel is not likely to make a move on Gourry--it's not her nature. She would prefer to keep the harmony--and be on Lina's good side (she's not a dummy--just naïve). She also has enough sensitivity to see that Gourry is Lina's, and has resigned herself to that fact. I admire her, actually. I think I see her as the person I'm most like in the series. You'd think Zel would immediately think of Sylphiel to help cure him. To be honest, I think he likes her enough to be protective of her, after what happened at Sairaag, plus her fairly agreeable nature isn't what is needed to be able to stand up to such a dangerous spell. He doesn't know about the increase in white magic yet--he doesn't socialize much these days and is behind on the current news. 

And now he's sort of feeling like 'if I can't be cured in time for Amelia's wedding, it doesn't matter if I'm cured at all', though he still won't let himself believe that he just might be interested in marrying her.

I realize that I still haven't said exactly what went on between the Oracle and Zelgadis--gomen nasai! Sore wa himitsu desu--at least for now. ^__^ 


	27. Chapter 27: Crushed Feelings,, Never L...

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Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Crushed Feelings // 

Never Let The Vendor Set The Price 

"Stay back, Amelia!" Gourry and Lina had both drawn their swords and stepped in front of the pair. Zelgadis felt Amelia pull herself from his grasp and dash in front of him. 

"Stop! I mean halt!" she cried. To her friends' complete astonishment she threw herself in front of the beast, spreading her arms out to the sides. "Shiran, halt!" she repeated. Incredibly, the animal cut its leap short, standing almost nose-to-nose with the young girl. It continued to snarl, hackles raised.

"Amelia, what are you doing?" Lina shouted. 

"You can't kill Shiran; she's my friend!" 

The threesome gaped at her as she turned to the huge beast and ordered, "Shiran, hush." The animal's snarling died down. "Didn't I tell you to 'remain'?" she scolded, crossing her arms. The beast's long, thin ears pressed back against the sides of her head, and she whined, the glow in her emerald eyes dimming. 

Amelia held the stern pose for a few more moments, looking remarkably like her father, then relaxed and placed a hand on top of the beast's huge head. "I know, you probably heard me crying and thought I was in danger. I forgive you." 

Zelgadis could not hold back a gasp as the huge creature, whose head was level with his own ribs, opened its mouth, showing razor-sharp teeth…and licked the young girl's face. The princess pushed the animal's head away, making sounds between a laugh and a groan, as she wiped her cheek with her other hand. "Eww! Shiran!"

Lina and Gourry exchanged wide-eyed glances and relaxed. The stone man did not. "Amelia, where did you get that…creature?" He had not lowered his sword. Shiran looked up at the sound of his voice, her green eyes glowing brighter. He stared back, his own eyes as cold and unflinching as the metal of the sword he carried. 

"Don't worry, Mister Zelgad--"

"I said, _where_ did you _get it_?" His voice bit harshly through her reply. He was tense, on edge…all his senses telling him something about the beast didn't feel…right. _What sort of creature is this? _

Startled, Amelia stammered, "In…in one of the towns I came through…"

__

Foisted off on her by some conniving villagers, no doubt. "That was foolish," he snapped. He didn't notice her wince as he continued his tirade, intent on making her realize just how much danger she'd naively put herself into. He almost yelled, "It's a vicious, dangerous beast--whatever possessed you to do something so stupid?"

Lina suddenly stepped in between the two. "Hey, Zelgadis, you don't have to jump down her throat. So she scared us--big deal. What's your problem?" 

Too late, the stone man noticed the usually cheerful princess was blinking back tears. He opened his mouth to explain his sudden strange intuition, but before he could get the words out Amelia clenched her fists and shouted back at him, "Shiran is _not_ dangerous! If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't even be here. She saved my life!"

Zelgadis took a step toward her, although he had no idea what he was going to do or say when he reached her. With a muffled sob the young girl turned and plunged away into the bushes, her call--almost a wail--of "Shiran, flank!" causing the pale beast to perk up her ears and bound after the girl.

He stood there, listening to the fading sounds of Amelia crashing through the forest, and her sobs. He hadn't felt so callow since…since he could remember.

"Nice going, Zel. She came all the way here to see you, and you had her crying in less than five minutes. Way to go." He winced at Lina's sarcastic tone, feeling worse than ever. He turned away from her and met Gourry's troubled eyes. The chimera felt a stab of guilt--his friend did not have to say '_You went too far, Zel'. _

Zelgadis found himself stammering uncharacteristically, "I--I didn't mean to hurt her…it's just that…that beast, it…I can't explain…I just don't trust it."

"Do you trust Amelia, Zelgadis?" He could not believe that words that icy were coming from someone so hot-tempered. He nodded wordlessly.

"Then get your butt out there and apologize to her before I feed you a fireball!" she roared. 

He hastened to obey, for once not caring if his departure was less than dignified. Before he was out of earshot he heard Lina scoff in disgust, "Men!" 

Either he passed out of hearing range just then, or Gourry had wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. 

*

Amelia ran through the forest, her breath ragged with sobs. _What happened? _She wailed mentally. _ I was so happy a few minutes ago…I thought he'd be glad to see me, but…he was so horrible…he thinks I'm stupid…oh, Shirry, what went wrong? _

*

Lina stomped around the clearing, grumbling about how men always managed to mess up relationships, gradually cooling down. Finally she heaved a large sigh and looked up at her blonde companion with a rueful smile. "What are we gonna do with him, Gourry?" 

He decided to take the safest option and simply shrugged. 

She continued, "Well, he's probably going to be a while. Let's get some rest while we can. He's been pushing a mean pace lately." 

"Sure, Lina." He dropped down to the ground right where he was, sitting cross-legged. Lina settled down with her back against a tree trunk, trying not to think about the last time she'd sat under a tree. She wished Gourry had chosen to sit closer to her. 

Several minutes later, Lina sat up. "Gourry, do you smell that?"

The blonde swordsman sniffed the air. "Yeah…something sure smells good."

"Let's check it out."

The eternally hungry pair followed their noses some distance away through the woods, eventually coming upon a narrow road that wound through the trees. Lina took several deep breaths. "It's…stew, I think…I smell beef…"

"And potatoes…and greens," Gourry added, taking in great gulps of air.

"It smells delicious!" Lina grabbed Gourry's hand. "Come on, Gourry, let's hope there's still 

some left!"

The two of them took off at a breakneck pace, running side by side. Lina released her hold on her companion's hand so she could run faster, but even so she was tempted to use Rei Wing to match Gourry's fierce pace. His long legs gave him an unfair advantage.

Within a few minutes their objective was in sight--a vendor was pushing his cart at a brisk pace down the road. The brightly-painted cart was a clever blend of a tiny firepit with a large, steaming cauldron hanging over it and a miniature kitchen. Pots and utensils were hanging from hooks all around the roof, swinging merrily back and forth as the cart moved with musical pings, like wind chimes. 

"Hey, mister--wait!" Lina called out. 

The man stopped, looking at them curiously behind large, silly-looking sunglasses and an enormous dark moustache. "Yes, what can I do for you?" 

"Food!" Gourry panted.

"I'll give you--" Lina paused to consider her offer. "Ten for the stew." 

The man blinked. "Well, my usual price is two per bowl--"

"No, not per bowl--ten for the entire cauldron."

"What?" The man's face went pale. "I can't sell you _all _of it--especially at such a ridiculously low price. Please excuse me--I have to be in Nedda in time for the lunch rush. I've gotta make a living, you know!" 

Lina was not the child of merchants for nothing. She recognized a sales technique when she saw it. But the rich smell of the stew was making her mouth water, so she sighed and said, "Well listen, you've got two customers right here. So how much do you want for say…half of the stew?"

Inside she winced, remembering her parents' advice too late: _Never let them know how badly you want something. And never let _them_ set the price! _But then, she usually didn't have to worry about prices, since there had always been plenty of bandit gangs around to raid for food and treasure. But this man wasn't just some brigand she could fireball--he reminded her of her parents, in a way. This was the first time in a long time that she had had to be careful about spending money. 

Gourry spoke up. "Aw, come on, mister, have a heart!"

The man turned back, stroking the huge black mustache that covered half his face. "You're really that hungry?"

Both of them nodded, looking at the man with huge puppy-dog eyes. 

He hesitated. "Well…I suppose I could let it go for…fifteen." 

"All right!" Gourry cheered.

Lina's eyes lit up. "Thanks, mister!" _Not nearly as bad as I thought. He's probably giving up a big hunk of today's profits, making us a deal like that._

Lina paid the man, who watched with ever-widening eyes as he served them bowl after bowl after bowl of rich stew, all of it disappearing almost before he finished ladling it into their bowls. Lina grinned at Gourry in between slurps, in a good mood because of the great deal they had negotiated, thinking vaguely that it was nice not to have to fight over food with him for once, even if it was sort of boring. 

The vendor stopped when he reached the halfway mark etched on the inside of the cauldron. "You weren't kidding--you were really hungry!" he exclaimed, half admiring, half shocked. 

Lina nodded. "Yeah, but that's taken off the edge. We'll be able to make it to lunch now without being too hungry."

The man gaped at her. She grinned, and turned to Gourry. "Come on, let's sit down for a few minutes and digest before we go back." 

As she walked away, Gourry remembered his manners and said to the man, "Thanks for the food--it was very good." 

Lina sat down on the grass, watching the vendor head off down the road. This time Gourry sat down next to her. "It's kind of funny to see a vendor out here instead of in town, huh, Lina?"

"Mm hmm. He must live nearby, but doesn't want to live in town for some reason. Some people just aren't very sociable. Look at Zel," she commented idly, not really paying attention. She yawned._ That stew made me sleepy. I'd better not sit too long, or I'll doze off._

The two of them sat together peacefully, listening to the singing of the daytime insects, letting the warm sun ease the kinks out of their muscles. The gentle breeze whispered around them. Lina caught herself listing to the side, about to lie down on the inviting grassy bed. She shook her head. _Gotta get up soon, _she reminded herself. _Can't lie down. _Her drowsy mind came up with a solution--lean against Gourry. That way she would remain upright. 

The little sorceress snuggled against her friend's side, murmuring, "Don' lemme fall asleep, 'kay, Gourry?" She felt his arm go around her waist, and smiled. Almost instantly she slid into slumber.

Gourry looked down at the young red-haired girl. He was tired, too, but decided to let her rest for a bit before waking her. He smiled, enjoying the feel of her pressed trustingly against him, glad that things between them had finally gotten to the point where he could sit with her like this and not have her accuse him of some horrible crime when she woke up. 

Though she had not really treated him any differently since they had left the Oracle, she _had_ smiled at him more, and once in a while he'd caught her gazing at him with a questioning, wistful look on her face when she thought he wasn't looking. If he managed to make eye contact with her, she always turned red and looked away. He sensed that she was confused, and he understood her longing, but something seemed to be holding her back. He wasn't sure, but it almost seemed to be fear. 

That's silly. Lina's never afraid. What could she possibly be scared of? Me? Sighing, the swordsman reminded himself to let her make the first moves. _It's all new to her. It is to me, too, but Lina's not used to showing people that she cares. It's not so hard for me. _

Asleep, the red-haired girl's face was both that of a young woman, and a small child. Gourry felt a familiar surge of protectiveness wash over him, along with more recent impulses that were not so pure in nature. He could feel her abdomen rising and falling gently with her breathing under the palm of his hand. _I wonder how much longer before you're ready to let me show you that I love you?_

A curl of bright hair was threatening to cover one of Lina's eyes. He reached up with his free arm and gently brushed the strands away. His hand lingered, caressing her cheek. _Her skin's as soft as…as that cloth rich people wear--silk. _ For the first time he thought, _my Lina. _With a smile of contentment, the blonde man nodded off. His head dangled over the girl's, their long hair blending into a warm red-gold mane. 

As they slept, a shadow loomed over them. "It took long enough for that sleeping draught to work."

"Yeah, yeah, but you gotta admit my idea worked. We got her and there ain't a scratch on us." 

"Yeah, well, let's hurry up an' get 'em to the boss before it wears off."

*

Zelgadis jogged through the forest, following Amelia's trail. It wasn't difficult--there were broken branches and footprints here and there to mark her passage. He could have caught up to her within minutes, but he had purposely slowed his pace when he realized that he had no idea what to say to her. _How am I going to talk to her now that I know how she feels about me? How can I look her in the eye and tell her I have no feelings for her beyond friendship? _

Perhaps for sanity's sake, he had managed to put out of his mind his surprising admission to the Oracle that he felt it possible that he could develop feelings for Amelia that went beyond simple friendship. He'd had a lot of practice in not thinking about things that bothered him…too much practice. 

But now another thought dawned on him. _She's probably shocked that I'm still a chimera. She must have been focusing all her hopes on me being human so that she--we…well, anyway, now I'm going to be stuck explaining what the Oracle told me a lot sooner than I expected to. I haven't really decided what I'm going to tell her. _He frowned grimly. _But I do know one thing--I'm not going to let her put herself in danger because of me. She's already risked her life more times than I care to think about-- _

The plaintive weeping of a young girl in distress interrupted his thoughts. He slowed, moving quietly, his pointed ears moving slightly as he followed the tremulous sobs to their source. 

"Oh, Shiran…I was so happy to see him." She spoke in spurts through the sob reflex. "And-and he looked--glad to see me, too…How did--everything--go wrong so fast? One minute he was holding me--in his arms, and the next he was--looking at me with such a look of…oh, Shirry, do you think he hates me?" Her cries became muffled, as though she was covering her mouth.

Zelgadis felt a sharp pang in his stone chest. _She thinks I hate her? _Then he spotted her, sitting on the pine-needle-carpeted forest floor, her face buried in the shining lavender fur of the large wild beast, who was lying patiently beside her. He felt the same jolt of uneasiness that had struck him earlier, and clenched his fists, fighting the irrational urge to get Amelia away from the beast who was obviously not offering her any kind of threat. 

The animal knew he was coming, of course, but he deliberately stepped on a dry stick, snapping it to let Amelia know he was there. She looked up with a gasp. "M-mister Zelgadis?" 

He stood for a long moment, feeling the wall between them as never before. She gazed up at him plaintively, her cheeks wet and her dark blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears. He wanted to comfort her, but could not make himself go to her, or even reach out his hand or smile reassuringly. Thankfully, his impassive gaze gave away none of his inner conflict. Finally, after nearly a minute of awkward silence, he managed to murmur, "I--I'm sorry," and lowered his head, unable to meet her eyes any longer. 

__

He came after me. Amelia couldn't help pulling in her breath sharply as she stared at him, standing there with fists clenched, his pale blue head bowed in shame and regret. _Oh, he does care about me. He does!_ She remembered how hard it was for him to show people that he cared, and felt a warm wave of tenderness wash over her, soothing away the hurt he'd inflicted. 

Zelgadis heard her gasp. For several moments there was nothing more than the sounds of birds chirping and the wind stirring the surrounding vegetation. He listened to her rise to her feet and walk toward him, and could not help tensing himself as if for a blow. 

"Mister Zelgadis?" came her soft voice. A small hand came into his field of view, gently touching his forearm. Slowly he looked up, past her waist, her bosom, her throat, to cast his gaze on her face. She was smiling at him, still a little teary but her eyes were shining. "I forgive you," she said, smiling at him in a way that sent an unexpected surge of emotion through him. 

"Amelia?" 

"I know you didn't mean it," she replied, patting his arm reassuringly. _She_ was trying to comfort _him! _That realization somehow enabled him to ease his control over his tongue.

"I didn't mean to yell--I wasn't really angry at you," he confessed. "I was afraid for you." He clamped his mouth shut, startled at his own admission. A band of pink appeared over his nose. Detachedly he noticed a loud fluttering sound as a bird took flight somewhere nearby. 

__

Oh, Zelgadis. "You were?" Her voice was a blend of surprise, wonder and delight. Her hand tightened on his sleeve without either of them paying much attention to it. _He's so adorable when he blushes!_

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak in case he should say something even more embarrassing. Her eyes melted into liquid tenderness. Then the raven-haired girl was leaning toward him, standing up on her toes, her face coming closer to his, her eyes drifting shut…

"I mean, you're my friend, after all," he blurted out, stepping back a little. Amelia blinked as if jolted out of a waking dream, looking away from him as her face turned an interesting shade of pink. The chimera stared at her. _What just happened? This is getting too…We'd better get back to the others. _

He noticed her hand still clutching his sleeve. "Um, Amelia…" he gave a gentle tug with his arm to remind her. 

"Oh." She looked embarrassed, and released his sleeve. 

He cleared his throat. "Well, we'd better go back before Lina comes looking for us." 

"I guess so." She sounded a little disheartened. 

The stone man sighed. _I'm sorry, Amelia, but it wouldn't be right to encourage you. _He was a little surprised she hadn't asked him yet about his cure, but he was not looking forward to when she did. _I'd rather fight Shabranigdou again. _

"Shiran, flank," Amelia said, lightly slapping the side of her thigh. The huge beast rose immediately and moved to her side. 

Zelgadis eyed it. "Amelia, you're sure that this…"

"Shiran."

"Shiran…can be trusted?"

She looked him in the eye, her gaze unwavering. "Yes. She was bred to be a protector."

His teal eyes met her blue ones, and finally Zelgadis nodded. They began walking back the way they had come. 

**************************

****

Author's Note: I know in Japan they don't eat a lot of beef, and what they do eat is nothing like what we would call 'beef stew', but they do eat soups made with beef, I'm sure.

I'm not sure just how much experience Gourry might have had with women in the past, but since he's 25 years old, physically very attractive, and used to be a mercenary, I would be willing to bet that at least a few women have offered to show him a few special things over the years…things he would be willing to share with Lina, now that he knows she really does love him. 


	28. CHapter 28: Kidnapped! A Boy and his D...

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Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because it's a real boost to the ol' faltering ego. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto ans Marie!

Note: A palomino-colored horse is one with a golden body and a white mane and tail, and sometimes other white markings.

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Chapter Twenty-Eight: Kidnapped?! 

A Boy and His Dog

As Zelgadis and Amelia made their way through the forest, the chimera could not keep from glancing at the intimidating animal which trotted at the princess' side. He noted the powerful muscles under the lavender-tipped white coat, with its darker streak of purple running from the tuft on top of her head, between her long pointed ears, down her spine to the base of her bushy tail. Her glowing emerald eyes still seemed somehow…unnatural, alien. It seemed incongruous that a beast so powerful was named 'lavender orchid', but he couldn't deny that she was beautiful, too.

After a while Amelia caught him staring. "I would have thought you'd understand her better than anybody." She frowned up at him reproachfully. 

"Hm?"

"She's a chimera, just like you." 

Zelgadis stopped short, a wordless sound of shock escaping his lips. Images of the vicious, brutal chimeras Rezo had created flashed through his brain. He became aware that Amelia was speaking to him. "A kindly old mage created her to be a special guardian for his flock of sheep. No one knows exactly which animals he used, but he didn't use people. They think she's mostly wolf and dragon, so they called her a dragonwolf." 

"Dragon?" He could not keep the shock out of his voice. _Most dragons live to kill humans--or anything else._

"Just a little bit," Amelia said defensively. "Just to make her smart enough to understand us. Sort of. Rilloban says she's not really sentient, but she's still awfully smart." 

"Rilloban?"

Amelia explained that the villagers had feared that Shiran had become too dangerous without her old master, and that one of the local boys had convinced her that the animal was not dangerous, just lonely. "Plus she saved my life once." 

As the bemused chimera listened he developed an uneasy feeling that he could not pin down. When the princess finished, he was thoughtful for a while. "I see now why you decided to protect her. She does seem to be a worthy creature, in spite of her appearance." _I must have sensed that she was a chimera, or maybe I reacted to the threatening dragon part of her._

"That's what I mean--I learned not to judge by appearances when I met you. It's not right for you to commit the same crime yourself." She stood up straighter, and he could see that she was suddenly about to launch into one of her famous justice speeches. 

Hastily he interrupted her. "You're right, Amelia. I should have known better. I apologize."

She hesitated. "You should apologize to her, not me."

"What?"

She crossed her arms, fixing him with a glare that would have made Lina proud. 

Zelgadis opened his mouth to protest, but her fierce blue gaze and the lingering remorse from his callous treatment of her made him give in. _Fine, _he grouchily told himself._ I don't feel like wasting any more time, and this will be faster than getting into an argument, humiliating as it may be. At least there's no one around to see this._

The stone man turned to the large animal walking on the other side of Amelia and said awkwardly, "Shiran…I'm sorry for assuming that you were an enemy before I knew all the facts." 

He had been speaking mostly for Amelia's benefit, but looking into those glowing green eyes he suddenly had the odd feeling that Shiran sensed what he was trying to say. He blinked, then took a closer look into her eyes. Unlike the wolf she resembled, she did not react as if his scrutiny was a challenge. Zelgadis had the strangest feeling that somehow Shiran knew that he was trying to understand her,trying to figure out what drove her, why she had acted as she had, when all other attempts to befriend her had failed. 

He thought about what she had done for Amelia. _She saved her life, at the risk of her own…why? Because Amelia's a white magic sorceress? Because she had no one to take care of after the deaths of her master and the sheep she looked after? Because her of owner's decision to breed 'protectiveness' into her? Protectiveness that caused her to heed the frightened cry of an injured young girl who was all alone… _

Suddenly Zelgadis suffered a flashback of Amelia as she lay dying in his arms with a look of shock in her sightless eyes during the battle with Hellmaster Phibrizzo. He had been helpless to save her then, and this time too… Another image of Amelia, this time lying bloody and helpless under the fangs of a pack of leapers, calling vainly to him for help suddenly clouded his vision. He winced, and became conscious of the sharp stab of guilt somewhere in his chest. _I wasn't there to protect her. I could have lost her…_

The emerald eyes he was gazing into suddenly blinked, snapping him out of his horror-state. He realized then that he had put his hands on the sides of Shiran's face, his blue fingers threaded through the thick fur. Shiran whined, as if she sensed his distress. As he released her face she shook herself, a remarkable sight of pale fur flying in all directions.

As the stone man watched her he became aware of his intense feelings of gratitude and indebtedness. _Whatever her motives, this animal did me a favor I can never repay. She deserves nothing less than my friendship. I only hope Amelia's feelings about her are correct--it would break her heart if this animal turns out to be untrustworthy. _

Amelia watched in surprise as Zelgadis knelt, pressing one tan-clothed knee into the rusty pine needle carpet, and continued sincerely, face to face with Shiran, "I…I want to thank you for protecting Amelia for me…and…I'd like to make peace between us. Friends?" His voice went up a little, and he unconsciously lowered his head, both signs that most animals could understand, whether or not they understood speech. 

The glowing green eyes of the dragonwolf narrowed and she took a few steps closer to him, sniffing his scent deeply. Not sure whether she was about to attack him now that he was in a vulnerable position, Zelgadis froze, following her movements with his eyes. He noticed her scent--that of warm fur and a particular muskiness that came from carnivores. A vague thought passed through the back of his mind that this was a good test for Shiran. His stone skin could withstand the razor-sharp fangs better than Amelia's delicate skin.

The emerald glow flickered, a sign Zelgadis was beginning to recognize that meant Shiran was uncertain, and her purple-edged ears went down, then came back up. 

He almost jumped when she whined softly, bending her head to lick him on the hand. The tension broken, he lifted his hand to look at it, then turned to Amelia with eyes as wide as dinner plates. 

She was beaming at him. "Oh, Mister Zelgadis, she's accepted you! Not only that, I think she's bonded to you, the way she has to me! It's a great honor, I think. At least, she never did that with any of the other village people, no matter how hard they tried. Oh, I'm so happy!" She clasped her hand in front of her, jumping up and down in excitement like a little girl, her joyful peals of laughter singing in his ears. 

He couldn't help smiling a little at her antics, ignoring the twinge of desire to join her in her undignified exuberance. He stood up, watching Shiran, who had no problem showing Amelia how she felt. The dragonwolf gave a happy whine and tried to lick the girl's face. Amelia fended her off, giggling. "Oh, yuck, Shiran! Don't make me all sticky." 

*

When the trio arrived at the original clearing, they discovered it empty. "Are you sure this is the right one?" Amelia asked him.

"Of course I'm sure. There's the bark that I was using to carry food on--Lina made me climb through some thorn bushes to get it. Of all the times for them to wander off," he growled.

"Do you want to go look for them?"

He hesitated. "No. We'll wait for them here. I don't feel like playing catch-up with the two of them all day." 

"Okay…then I'm going to let Sunshine graze."

He nodded absently, debating whether to have Amelia wait while he searched. _No--the forest's too thick to see anything with Rei Wing. Besides, they've been sticking pretty close by me ever since…the Oracle, so I doubt they've gone far. _

He made himself comfortable by the base of a tree, watching Amelia lead a beautiful palomino-colored mare into the clearing and turn her loose. "Are you sure that's wise, Amelia? Won't you have trouble catching her?"

"No--she always comes when I call. She likes me." Amelia sat down next to him on the grass. 

"Everything likes you," he teased unexpectedly, one side of his mouth turning up, a stony eyebrow raised. She looked at him in astonishment. 

Zelgadis himself was a little surprised at how rapidly his emotions kept changing, but his recent good humor was welcome, compared to the terrible morass of feelings he had plowed his way through for the past two weeks. 

Amelia drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, smiling at him affectionately. _Does that mean he does, too? Oh, I hope, I hope…_

The chimera gazed at her, a small smile on his lips, feeling that same contentment he had experienced once on her balcony; the desire to do absolutely nothing but enjoy her company. He pushed all negative thoughts to the back of his mind, finding it somehow easier to do so in her familiar presence. 

The air seemed heavy with silence, save for the chirping of insects, and the occasional birdsong…a lazy sort of day when all one's problems seem to recede, perfect for relaxing.

Shiran came up to them and lay down on Zelgadis' other side, leaning her great frame against him with a sound midway between a sigh and a groan. He looked down at her half in amusement, half with the desire to move away. A giggle from Amelia made him look up. She had her hand over her mouth, and her blue eyes were sparkling with amusement. 

The stone man felt the corners of his own mouth turn up, and didn't resist. He smiled for the second time in as many minutes--a record for him. 

"Oh, you two look so cute together. A boy and his dog," Amelia laughed. 

__

"Cute?" He gave her an exaggerated look of disgust, and felt warm inside when she giggled again. Then his smile faded, and he added thoughtfully, "You don't mind that she likes me? She's your 'dog'." 

She shook her head, grinning affectionately at him. "Not anymore. Now she's ours."

Ours. Zelgadis almost protested, but something inside him, something that relished the sense of connection to the little princess, kept him silent. _But_ _I wonder, whom will Shiran choose to go with when we separate at the palace? _

Amelia was thinking, _I wonder if Shiran accepted him so easily because they're both chimeras? Or because we smell of magic, like Mister Savari would have? Or maybe Shiran can just tell how much I love him, and it made her love him, too? _She liked the last explanation best.

She decided not to mention that she had noticed Zelgadis was wearing the ward bracelet she had given him on his canteen strap. _It'll remind him of the wedding and he'll probably want to give it back to me now. I kind of like seeing him wearing it, right out where people can see it. I hope that means what I think it does…_

The emotional events of the afternoon had taken their toll on all of them. Gradually Zelgadis nodded off, his back against the tree, with Amelia curled up on the grass beside him. Already he was beginning to rely on Shiran's senses to warn them of distant danger. 

Zelgadis awoke with the feeling that something was wrong. He looked around the clearing, listening for any danger, in spite of Shiran's slumbering form next to him. Nothing. Then he noticed the sun. 

"Amelia, wake up." 

She didn't stir. He reached down to place a hand on her shoulder, shaking gently. "Amelia."

"Mm?" Her eyes opened. He removed his hand as she sat up, rubbing her eyes drowsily. "What is it?"

"Look at the sun."

It took her sleep-befuddled mind a moment to realize what he was talking about. "Oh, we've slept for a long time!" 

"Almost four hours. And Lina and Gourry aren't back yet."

"Do you think something's happened to them?" Amelia brought one hand up in her familiar gesture of dismay, her fist in front of her chin.

"I'm starting to think so." Inwardly he was cursing himself. _I shouldn't have fallen asleep. I should have known something was wrong from the start. _"We'd better start searching for them."

They got to their feet, casting about for some trace of which way to go. Abruptly Zelgadis turned to the princess. "Amelia--do you think Shiran might be able to follow their scents?"

"Oh…well, I guess so…but maybe she won't have to."

He turned to look at her. "What's that?"

"Let me try to find them. Lately…I mean, since the Barrier's fall my magic has gotten more powerful. I used a locator spell to look for Shiran, and I noticed that I could see all of you as well."

"More powerful? In what way?" 

""Well…I can do spells now that I think only someone as strong as Filia or Sylphiel could do before. Some are spells I'd only heard about, but could never manage before. And my regular spells have all been enhanced."

He gave her a sharp look. "I haven't noticed any enhancement in my magic. When did you notice your powers had increased?"

He watched as she put a hand to the back of her neck, as if embarrassed. "Oh…to be honest, I didn't. I mean, I've been so busy looking for your cure that I haven't needed to use much magic lately. Someone else pointed it out to me." 

"And why do you think the Barrier has something to do with it?"

"Well, Rilloban--the boy from Shiran's village--said his village's healer started getting stronger around the time the Barrier fell. He said she thinks the Barrier was somehow blocking the white mages, though she didn't know how or why. So I tried some magic, and sure enough, I can do lots more than I used to!" He tone was almost gleeful.

__

Hmm. Perhaps I should pay this healer a visit. She may be powerful enough to activate the Oracle's cure with no danger to herself, even without the obligation to love me. Zelgadis shook off those uncomfortable thoughts before they could drag him down again to the depths of depression and confusion. "Go ahead and try to locate our friends, Amelia."

"Okay." Amelia leaned down and picked up a forked twig from the earth and closed her eyes, standing absolutely still. Zelgadis watched her face take on a look of extreme concentration, and held his breath lest he inadvertently break it. After a few moments, her arm rose, wavering in the air in front of her, and gradually settled in a southeasterly direction. "There."

Her eyes opened. The pupils were huge, almost drowning out the blue, but they rapidly shrank back to normal even as he watched. Suddenly she blinked, and he realized that he'd been standing over her, staring into her eyes, his face just inches from hers. He backed off, both of them looking away from each other, blushing. The chimera put a hand behind his head. "Ahem, well, let's get going." 

"Right."

*

Lina woke up sluggishly. Opening her eyes, she blearily made out a stone wall in front of her. _Where'd that come from? _ Turning her head, she realized that she was in a small stone chamber. The only light came from a tiny barred window in the heavy wooden door. _Great. I'm somebody's prisoner. _She became aware of Gourry's familiar snoring somewhere nearby. _Correction: _we're_ somebody's prisoners. _

She also became aware that she was starvingly hungry. Rolling over, she groaned at the stiffness of her body from the hard cold floor. _I don't need this. We're on a deadline… _"Gourry, wake up." 

Predictably, she had to shake him vigorously to bring him to full wakefulness, and explain what was going on when he did manage to wake up. Just as she finished, the door was unlocked from the outside, and several large, burly men appeared. The shortest of them spoke. "Now that you're finally awake, the boss'd like ta see ya."

"Suppose we don't want to see him?" Lina snarled, already planning what she was going to do to these guys.

"Don't ya even wanna know why you're here?"

That actually made her pause, curious. "I assume he's some bandit I defeated in the past, and now he wants to get revenge."

"Nope."

"Someone who thinks I owe him money?"

"Nope."

"Some evil overlord who wants to take over the world and/or destroy it and he wants me to cast my most powerful spell to help him?"  


The men guffawed, making her mad. "Hey, what's so funny?"

"You couldn't be wronger, lady." The short one said, wiping away tears of laughter. "Now come on--we don't got all day."

Lina hesitated, then followed the man out of the cell. _I might as well see what's up. Maybe it's a misunderstanding I can talk my way out of. I haven't got time for a battle right now. _"Will he at least give us some food? I feel like I haven't eaten in days."

"You haven't." 

"What?"

"You've been asleep for almost two days. Hey, don't look at us. You're the ones who made such pigs of yourselves with the stew."

Lina's eyes narrowed_. _"So the 'vendor' was in on this, too. And to think I _paid_ him! I want a refund!" 

The guards led them through what looked like an entire network of caves to a large cavern with a table in one corner. "Food!" Gourry yelled, heading toward it. 

Lina grabbed the end of his hair and yanked him back. "Don't eat that, you idiot! It's probably drugged!"

"The food is quite safe." A man stepped out of the shadows. He was tall, with dark hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and steady blue eyes. "I need you awake, and I don't want you to starve to death before I can question you. Go ahead--I promise you it is neither poisoned nor drugged." 

Gourry looked at her pleadingly. Lina focused an intense gaze on the dark-haired man, and slowly nodded. "Go on, Gourry." 

"All right!"  


She turned to face the man. "Okay, now what's going on?"

He gave her a measuring look, seeming to understand that she was not going to budge until she got some answers. "All right. Will you at least eat while I talk?"

*

Zelgadis jogged along beside Amelia's cantering horse when they came to a short stretch of open meadow, glancing the pair out of the corner of his eye. He watched as the golden mare's long white mane rippled back toward the young girl, whose own raven-black hair fluttered in the breeze. Idly, he noted that Amelia was a very good rider, using her legs and slight shifts in posture to tell the horse what was needed from her, instead of relying on the reins.

That's not a bad horse, either. He observed the mare's long legs, her sloping shoulders and deep chest. _A bit lightly built for climbing through hilly mountains, but an excellent runner. The name Sunshine suits her, I suppose. _He wasn't overly fond of cutesy names, but had to admit to himself that he'd never traveled with a horse that had such a friendly temperament. And her coloring--a shining golden shade with a snowy white mane, tail, socks, and a round star on her forehead--was certainly adequately described.

__

Maybe sometime I'll drop by Seyrune and take a look at their stock--it's always a good idea to know where to find quality horses. Even if I can't ride anymore. His mind veered off from old memories as he experienced a jolt of bitterness. 

__

At least we're making better time than we would have, if Amelia hadn't brought her along. His thoughts switched back to the girl._ I should have expected that she'd be a good rider--as the princess, she must have been trained by the best. I wonder if she's ever competed… _

Too full of worry over her missing friends' plight, Amelia did not notice the stone man's many admiring glances.

*************************

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Author's Note: Shiran's coat is white, but each hair has a pale purple tip, giving it a lavender appearance. She has a somewhat darker stripe of purple hair on her back and head, and her ears have darker edges. 

In a review, Ukchana posed several excellent queries I'd like to answer. First of all, I'm glad for the questions--it shows my readers are thinking, which is really the point of why people write--to make you think and wonder and dream, and sometimes change the world. 

The first question is which kind of Flare Arrow does Zelgadis use--as far as I know, there's only one kind--a Shamanistic one that hurt souls. I looked it up when I was trying to find a spell that makes a big flash and boom but won't hurt anything physically, and found this one. As long as Zelgadis aimed it upward, away from people, he could use it as a distraction to 'kidnap' Amelia from the music hall without damaging anything.

Second: Why is magic outside the Barrier weak? That's actually rather easy--it's cultural. Magic in the Outer World is probably regarded as unreliable, unsafe, suspected by some as being fake, or even evil, which is much the way magic is regarded in America's culture. If people regard it as something bad, most people will have nothing to do with it and will see the few who do as people to be suspicious of. Now, those few people who DO use magic will have a hard time finding anyone to learn from, so will have to figure out most of it on their own--so of course their spells are likely to be unimpressive to those people from inside the Barrier, where magic is accepted as legitimate. 

Look how long it's taken the general public to get used to the idea of out police using psychics to help them solve crimes, and even so, most people still scoff and profess to disbelieve, though one might wonder…if being a psychic was suddenly regarded as a respectable thing to be, how many of the scoffers would drop their scorn, now that they didn't have to be afraid others might make fun of them for believing in psychics? I'm watching a show called The Dead Zone (10pm Eastern Standard time, on USA) that has just such a psychic--and he has several friends in political and law circles who make others go along with his predictions, even when they disbelieve. It's interesting from a cultural point of view--and I like how he lives in Maine, only one state away from my own New Hampshire. 

Third query: Why do I have people react to Zelgadis as if he were someone to be afraid of? When he was part of Lina's group people treated him no differently from the others? Well, partly because Lina's group was so unusual that he blended in better, and Lina, with her loud, brash personality, sort of overshadowed the rest, so Zel seemed more normal in comparison. Less noticeable. Ever notice if you're watching a group of anime characters and they're all unusual--maybe even monstrous--except for the human leader, it's usually the human who is given the most attention? 

I thought about how the average villager would react to everything that's happened over the past three years in the Slayers world. (I figure with no media it would take several years for the stories of Lina's group's exploits to become known to the general public, most likely twisted into mere rumors and stories.) Shabranigdo, mazoku, the fall of Sairaag, Lord Gaav, and the spectacular battles in Try with the dragons that left the giant beam of light where the core of the Barrier used to be--if I were a villager I'd be afraid my village was going to be wiped out at any moment. Even the White Magic capital, Seyrune, literally lost a huge chunk of its land and any people that were on it, so how can the average village protect itself? I'd react with suspicion toward ANY stranger, and as for one who looked non-human… 

And Zelgadis would react to people's suspicions by become more cautious, secretive, maybe almost paranoid at times. A few bad experiences with villagers would only make him that much more reclusive. He's not like Amelia, who would figure any nasty treatment she received was exclusive to that particular person, not that everyone was going to treat her that way. Optimism: 'The next village is bound to be better, ne?' 

I love to explain my reasoning behind seemingly offhand plot points in my fic--if any of you have something that's been gnawing away at your mind, please don't hesitate to ask! ^__^

****

Dreamsinger


	29. Chapter 29: A Time of Closeness

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. 

****

PG-13 for lime-i-ness

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Time of Closeness 

While their friends were ensnared in the land of lullabies, Zelgadis and Amelia spent the entire day following the princess' locator spell. When night came, the chimera provided light for the group, especially the horse, who was somewhat skittish to be traveling at a time when her instincts told her to be holed up somewhere safe. 

Still, a few hours before dawn Amelia had to ask for a break--not for herself, but for Sunshine, she explained, who was unable to travel as indefatigably as Zelgadis, or even Shiran, especially carrying a rider. "She's not a long-distance horse," Amelia said apologetically. "She's meant for gentle trail rides and short, fast trips. I can feel that she doesn't have much stamina--at least not yet."

The chimera chafed at the delay, but he had to acknowledge the wisdom in not tiring the horse out completely. _Besides, most other horses would have balked by now--it's only because of that unusually willing temperament that we got this far._ "Can you tell if we're any closer?"

She closed her eyes in a way that had become familiar. "No…they had a really good head start, and the horses they're riding must be the right kind for fast travel over long distances, because I think…I think we're falling behind."

Zelgadis could not hold back a growl of frustration. "Well, that's just perfect." _Where in the world are they taking them? _

Amelia lowered her head. "I'm sorry." 

He looked at her with one stony eyebrow raised. "For what?"

Well, for…" She seemed to be trying to think of something. "Nothing, I guess." She put a hand behind her head in embarrassment. "I'm just being silly." She yawned, turning her head away and covering her mouth with her hand.

Zelgadis realized that she was tired, but was refusing to admit it. _She's pushing herself. If it was only me I could keep going, but I need her finder spell to locate them as soon as possible. And that means I need her able to think properly. It galls me to say it, but-- _"Amelia, why don't you lie down for a few hours? You might as well get some sleep while your horse rests." 

She gave him a weary smile. "That's all right. I'm not tired."

"Amelia--"

"Mister Zelgadis, how could I possibly sleep at a time like this?" She looked indignant. 

"I need you able to concentrate!" he snapped back.

She faltered. "But…but…"

He caught her hurt expression and mentally groaned. "Look, I'm sorry, all right? I want to find them as much as you do, but I'm a chimera. I can go for long periods without sleep; you can't. So would you please just humor me?"

In the harsh glare of his light spell, he watched her face go from rebellious to undecided, and finally, to surrender. "All right," she murmured unhappily. "I'll try." The young girl chose a comfortable spot on the ground and lay down, wrapping her cape around herself. Within moments she was asleep. 

Shiran appeared out of the darkness like a pale wraith, padding quietly over to lie down beside her mistress. Silently, Zelgadis watched the pair sleep, still not quite sanguine about the dragonwolf's presence, but now that he knew her background he was less inclined to be suspicious. Wolves, at least, tended to be extremely loyal to those they considered to be in their pack, and if Amelia had been told the truth about Shiran's breeding, the dragon part of her had only been used to increase her ability to follow commands. 

Of course her creator, Savari, might have made a mistake, but judging from her appearance--Shiran was the most beautifully amalgamated chimera he had ever seen--the old mage had really known what he was doing. It had also eased the stone man's suspicions considerably when Shiran had not taken advantage of their afternoon slumber to harm them. Not that her teeth could have done much damage to him, but as long as the beast seemed serious about protecting Amelia he wouldn't have much cared if Shiran had decided to use him as a chew toy. 

Now his mind went over everything they knew about their friends' disappearance. _All we know is that they've apparently been kidnapped by someone with the power to incapacitate Lina, even though it's nowhere near her time of the month. Where they're taking them or why is a mystery, but at least as long we know they're alive we can assume that they'll be kept that way--at least until they get where they're going. I just wish we could travel faster! _

He looked down at the slumbering princess, curled up in her pale cape, looking like a child. _The only good thing about this mess is that she seems to have forgotten about my cure. It's just as _

well--I really don't feel like getting into all that right now. The chimera sat down to rest on a large rock that was nearby. _Why did Amelia decide to meet up with us? I thought her father wouldn't let her come…she must have convinced him to let her have one last jaunt through the wilderness before she gets married. Hmm…and she must have used her locator spell to find us, since we were supposed to be returning by ship-- _

Just then Amelia rolled over away from him, her cape sliding off of her shoulders to the dark earth. _At least she's a fairly quiet sleeper, _Zelgadis mused. He didn't envy her the chore of sharing various sleeping accommodations with Lina, who was well-known for her restlessness. _Only Lina could manage to give someone a black eye in her sleep_. His mouth formed a wry half-smile. 

He sat with his hard chin on his stone fist, idly thinking about his friends' various eccentricities, letting the cool, dark peacefulness of the night calm him. The moon was nearly full, shining down through the trees on the two of them as if to cloak them in angel dust. Their light-colored clothing and Zelgadis' hair were almost shimmering, lending a gentle, ethereal atmosphere to the small clearing.

A while later Amelia moved again, turning to face him. Blissfully sprawled out, she was lying partially on her back, partially on her shoulder, with one small hand moving up to curl loosely against her cheek. The elbow of her upper arm had remained on the ground behind her, with that hand coming to rest on her chest. 

The chimera watched her for some time before he realized that he was staring at her hand, which was curving gently over her full breast, rising and falling softly with her breathing. Immediately a hot blush spread over his pale blue cheeks as he tried to tear his eyes away, but the allure of the womanly body sleeping before him drew him like a moth to a flame. He kept glancing at her, short, guilty glances at first, then longer ones, his entranced gaze tracing the curve of her hip, the length of her legs, the smooth clean line of her jawbone back to the graceful arc of her neck.

Smooth flawless skin…pink lips, curving into a smile even in her sleep, dainty ears…slender arms…her small hand, so innocently resting on the marvelously full breasts that nature had generously endowed her with…slender waist and full hips… 

Not really thinking about it, his mind unconsciously compared her to all other females he had ever come into contact with, and found them lacking. In his eyes she was perfectly formed, a small well-proportioned woman with a sweet face and wonderfully curved body that would be a pleasure to hold. 

Zelgadis found himself imagining kneeling down next to her, reaching out to her and running his finger gently along her cheek. Her eyes would open, and she would smile up at him, her deep blue eyes full of the love and adoration that was for him alone. She would open her mouth to speak his name, but he would gently place a finger over her lips and then lean down ever so slowly to kiss her…

So deeply was he immersed in his waking dream that he started and almost fell off the rock when Amelia moved, curling into a ball on the hard ground. The spell broken, the stone man blinked and looked at the girl with wide blue-green eyes, his feelings of just moments before rapidly disappearing into his unconscious mind. _I must have been half-asleep, _he told himself. _Why else would I think about kissing Amelia? _

Unconsciously he moved the side of his index finger up to touch his chin, mulling over what had just happened, trying to explain it away. _Maybe I'm finally accepting that she has feelings for me--but it's too bad I can't return them, _he mentally hastened to add. He gazed down at her small form, feeling his lips want to smile affectionately at the young princess. _ She'll make someone a fine bride someday. _

His almost-smile faded as he remembered that she would be married as soon as this journey ended. 

After several seconds he noticed that Amelia was starting to shiver. _Is it that cold out? _He hadn't noticed any change in the temperature, but then his stone skin was naturally insulative. It would take a significant alteration--at least twenty degrees--for him to feel any difference in the ambient temperature. Zelgadis eyed her cape, now mostly underneath her body. _Suppose she wakes up with me trying to reach under her… _A brief flicker of his fantasy came back to him, and he blushed. 

Eventually he sighed and reached up to unfasten his own cape. His feet seemed to crunch unnaturally loudly on the loose pebbles underfoot as he approached the dark-haired princess. Cautiously the stone man set one knee beside her on the ground, and draped his cape over her, tucking it loosely around her shoulders. 

Task accomplished, he should have moved away at once, but instead he stayed there for a moment, noticing the slight frown on her face relax back into serenity. He watched her take a deep breath and stretch out a little, smiling. Idly the chimera wondered if she could smell his scent on the cape, which must still have been warm from his own body heat. 

Without thinking Zelgadis reached out and brushed away several stands of her midnight hair that had strayed across her eyes. "Good night, Amelia," he murmured in his softest tone. 

*

"Amelia." 

The young princess heard a voice speak her name, drawing her up through the layers of sleep. 

"Amelia." She felt a light touch on her shoulder, and a sudden cool bite of morning air.

"Yes?" she managed to reply, recognizing Zelgadis' voice. 

"It's dawn. We need to start searching for our friends."

Her eyes snapped open. _Miss Lina! Mister Gourry! _She scrambled to her feet, not noticing the chimera donning his cape. "Yes, of course. Where's Sunshine?"

"Right there." He pointed to where the silhouette of the horse was grazing nearby. 

She headed toward the mare, but stopped as she realized something. "Um, Mister Zelgadis, I think I'd better go use the bushes first." She blushed, embarrassed, as he nodded. "I'll be right back."

The princess had not forgotten about Zelgadis' quest. At first, she had been so glad to see him that she had completely forgotten that he was supposed to look different, and then her composure had been thoroughly shattered when he'd yelled at her--she had reverted to a hurt child again and run off in tears. After the double surprises of Zelgadis' apology, and his bonding with Shiran, the thought of his cure hadn't crossed her mind again that afternoon until just before she fell asleep. 

Of course, waking up to find Lina and Gourry missing had done a good job of making her forget again. She was simply too familiar with his appearance; to the young girl he looked perfectly normal. Even the sight of her own ward bracelet on the strap of his canteen seemed right, ordinary. What with one thing after another the question of the chimera's cure had been driven to the back of her mind and given low priority in the light of her friends' peril. 

As she headed back, she thought, _I wonder what's going on with Mister Zelgadis' cure? I've got to remember to ask him. _

When she returned, Zelgadis had already saddled her mare, and was saying something to her in a soothing voice. As she approached him, she asked curiously, "What are you saying?"

He glanced at her casually. "Just noticing how friendly she is. I've never seen a horse so easy to catch." 

Amelia smiled. "Oh, yes--the townspeople told me she was too people-oriented to be a good workhorse. That's how come she was loaned to me--no one needed a riding horse just now." 

"Loaned to you? She isn't yours?"

Her face fell. "No. She's a replacement." She bit her lip, as bitter memories of Gallant's death suddenly threatened to make her cry.

"A replacement?" Zelgadis looked down at the dark-haired girl, who had suddenly gone quiet, and a notion dawned. _Oh, Amelia. _"What happened?" he asked gently. 

She answered in a low voice, without taking her eyes from the ground, as if ashamed. "I--I wasn't paying attention--I got attacked by a pack of leapers--"

Shocked, he glanced quickly up and down her body. _Leapers?_ They were fierce killing machines, but she didn't seem to be any worse for wear, so he kept quiet and let her finish. 

"--hit my head and I couldn't tell down from up, and Gallant tried to save me but…they killed him…" Her voice trembled on the last word, rising in distress.

"Who got killed?" The memory of the searing pain of loss from the ward bracelet suddenly imprinted itself on the inside of his skull. 

Her face twisted. "Gallant--my daddy's horse. He was--trying to protect me from them…and they…they tore his throat out. The beasts!" Her voice cracked as she fought back tears.

Zelgadis' eyes widened, remembering. "I could feel your pain," he said, half to himself.

Her imminent tears were stalled. "What?"

Zelgadis reached around behind his waist and unfastened the ward bracelet from his canteen. "I could feel when you were in danger, with this. It lit up--"

"--with a bright white light--" she added slowly, looking up at him, then down at the matching bracelet on her wrist, then back at him again.

His voice was barely above a whisper. "And it was as if whatever was happening to you was happening to me, too. I could feel your pain, your terror, your grief…even sense which direction you were in, but somehow I knew you were too far away to help." 

Amelia spoke with a quaver in her voice. "You were--you were dying, fading away in my mind, and there was nothing I could do to help you." The next thing he knew, the stone man was being clutched in an awkward embrace. "Oh, Mister Zelgadis, I'm so sorry!" 

"For what?" He had managed to lift his arms out of the way in time, and now he stood with them hovering over her, not sure what to do with them. 

"For the bracelets! I didn't know that would happen! I'm so sorry you had to go through such awful pain--it felt like I was dying, too, when you were drowning. And I was scared, so scared that I would lose you…" Her voice trailed off in a whimper, and even through his stone skin he could feel her trembling against him. 

Without thinking he put his arms around her, gently holding her close to him, suddenly wanting nothing more than to comfort her. "Amelia…you couldn't have known what would happen. Didn't you tell me once that the spell on the wards was ancient, from one of your ancestors?"

"Y-yes." 

"Then how could you possibly have known what would happen?"

She was silent, huddled against him as if seeking shelter from all the hardships of the world. The chimera looked down at the top of her head, experiencing a fierce, unexpected rush of protectiveness for this vulnerable young girl. He swallowed hard, and continued after a few moments, "Lina figured out that they must connect the people who wear them, so that if one person is in danger, the other will know and be able to help."

Amelia was silent for a long time within his careful embrace, her arms around his waist, and her cheek pressed against his chest. He could hear her rapid heartbeat gradually slowing. "Yeah, only we got too far away from each other to be able to do any good," she finally added in a wry tone. 

Zelgadis abruptly realized that her trembling had stopped; that she was relaxed against him. Then he chuckled softly, unaware of the affectionate smile on his face as he looked down at her, for the moment completely unselfconscious about touching her. He breathed in the warm living scents of her hair and skin, and suddenly felt the urge to clasp her even closer to him, to tuck his head over hers and enfold her inside his protective stone embrace. Only the conditioned reflexes he had developed to avoid hurting others over the years kept him from obeying those impulses. _Thank goodness nothing happened to you!_

Vaguely he was aware of a voice in the back of his mind telling him that this wasn't right, but he ignored it for the moment, too busy cherishing the first real sensations of comfort--and closeness--he'd felt in years to care. 

In the end, it was Amelia who pulled away first. "We'd…better get going." She hesitated, then added, "Thank you for not being mad at me." 

He nodded silently, unwilling to ruin the moment with an argument over whether or not he had the right to be angry when she hadn't known about the spell in the first place.

Amelia looked up at the chimera she loved, watching him glance down at the bracelet in his palm, and wondered if he was going to give it back. He hesitated for a long moment, then said, "Amelia… would you mind if I held onto this a while longer? It might come in handy…in case we get separated, and one of us gets in trouble." 

He means me, she realized, but she didn't care. Her mind was shouting joyfully, _He wants to keep it! _With a grateful smile, she nodded. "That's fine with me, Mister Zelgadis."

She mounted Sunshine, and they started out. As the hours passed, Amelia kept remembering his unexpected embrace. _I cried on him. And he let me! I would have thought he'd pull away, but instead he held me, and comforted me, even though he must have been horribly embarrassed. I didn't even mind that his arms were sort of hard…I could tell he was being careful not to hug too tight. _

She recalled the wonderful comfort she had felt, resting her head against his chest, hearing his faint heartbeat through the stone. _He was warm, and I could feel him breathing…he surprised me when he laughed. I couldn't see his face, but his voice was so gentle… _She sighed. _I could have stayed like that for hours, but who knows what's happened to our friends by now?_

Zelgadis strode along beside the golden mare, replaying recent events in his head, trying to sort everything out. _I shouldn't have done that…the last thing I want to do is encourage her. _He sighed. _But how could I ignore someone who was in such pain? I felt her grief when her horse was killed, although at the time I thought it was a person…_he realized in embarrassment. 

And those bracelets… I can't decide if they're a blessing or a curse. They don't just give warnings; they actually connect the owners' minds. The last thing I want is something intruding into my head, after what Rezo did to me. 

To the back of his mind he pushed away the thought of how good it had felt to be able to comfort her, and how much he wanted to keep her safe. _I suppose I'll just have to put up with them--with my luck Amelia will get herself into some stupid situation and I'll end up having to rescue her._

*

"Aaah!" A cry of agony escaped the young sorceress' lips. 

"Are you ready to tell me what I need to know, Miss Lina?" her dark-haired captor queried. 

"I-ah-ah-choo! I keep telling you I don't know what you're talking about!"

Lina Inverse was no stranger to being taken captive--even tortured--but never had she been subjected to this particular type before: the 'water test'. She had been strapped face-up to a wooden board which was balanced on the edge of a huge metal cauldron. It was filled with freezing cold water from an underground stream, into which Ponmar's men had proceeded to dunk her several times, in an attempt to make her 'confess'. 

"It is a well-known means in my land for making recalcitrant magic-users talk," her captor had explained. "I hate having to use it, but you leave me no choice. I must protect my land, by whatever means possible."

**************************

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Author's Note: The torture device is sort of like a Salem witch trial dunking stool. Cruder, but the same principle.

Slayers Otaku-Girl asked where I got the world 'flank'--I wanted a command that meant 'stay beside me' and yet not a word that people would use in casual conversation, and 'flank' means the side or the border of something. 

Crazy Elf Paladin-san and Ukchana-san have both pointed out that Flare Arrow is a more destructive spell than I had been led to believe. Would someone like to recommend a different spell? It has to have a bright flash of light and make some kind of noise and yet not damage the architecture of the music building. 

Paladin-san also mentioned Outer World mages performing for children in Try as if their craft was considered legitimate/respectable. Well, when I saw them, it reminded me of the Victorian age where street performers did all kinds of things for the general public. They were not considered dangerous, exactly, but people often looked down on them. As if they were of a lower caste or something. Anyway, that's one of the reasons why I formed my theory on the magic level of the Outer World being lower than inside the Barrier. 

* As far as 'Zelgadis being treated as a freak' goes, I have to say that it's not so much that other people treat him like one, it's that Zelgadis BELIEVES that they will. I cannot believe that after all the bad things that have happened over the last few years that some people will not have become more suspicious of strangers (no matter what they look like) or that Zel will not have had some bad experiences since leaving Lina's group that will have made him even more solitary and suspicious of everyone. You notice that I don't usually have people treat him badly--look at the sailors on the ship. The problem is more in Zelgadis' mind than in reality, but no less an incentive for him to want to become normal. 


	30. Chapter 30: Interrogations and Inner Co...

**Only Stone on the Outside**

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though--I just like to know if anyone's interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Note: pronunciations:

Ponmar--pon-mahr

Varxin--vahr-zin

**Chapter Thirty: Interrogations and Inner Contemplations **

__

How do I end up in these situations? Lina groaned to herself. _Out of all the people I could have run into, I meet the one group of people who don't hold my name in fear--I mean, respect. And since when is submerging somebody under water a reliable way to get information?_

*

Some hours earlier:

Lina watched to see which plates the man across from her ate food from, and copied him. She nibbled with extraordinary restraint at the savory meats and crisp vegetables, passing up the rich-smelling broth--just in case--though her stomach was crying its distress at her, urging her to devour everything in sight. 

Gourry, sitting beside her, did not have such caution, stuffing himself as if--well, as if he hadn't eaten in two days, which he hadn't. 

"My name is Ponmar." The man bowed his head slightly at her. "You are Lina Inverse and 

Gourry Gabriev."

"Yeah, now what's the big deal, kidnapping us?" Lina demanded. "I haven't got the time to kid around, here!"

"Oh?" Lina caught the hint of suspicion in Ponmar's keen blue eyes, though his face remained calm. "And what are you in such a hurry for, if you don't mind my asking?"

Lina's ruby eyes narrowed. "Not so fast, pal, I asked you first." 

He nodded slightly. "Fair enough. I have come from the land beyond the Barrier. In the months since its fall, the surrounding kingdoms have been attacked several times by powerful mages who have caused severe damage and casualties. We fear an invasion; an army of wizards and witches--a force we would be largely helpless against. The few magic-wielders we have managed to capture so far all claim that you are their leader."

"What?" The red-haired sorceress couldn't decide if she was astonished or indignant. "You don't believe that, do you?" 

"That is what I have been sent here to determine." 

Flustered won. Red-faced, the young girl sputtered, "Aw, come on, are you telling me you're gonna believe a bunch of mages so cowardly that they'd blame their actions on a _girl?"_

Deep in Ponmar's eyes, she thought she saw a trace of doubt, but his expression remained serious as he answered, "Normally, no. But expeditions to your land have brought back many tales of an incredibly powerful, young-seeming sorceress who is bent on conquest."

"Not those old rumors again!" Lina groaned.

Gourry, as usual, made everything worse by adding his two cents. "Oh, you mean how people call Lina names like the Bandit Killer and Seyrune's Demolisher?"

"Idiot!" Lina whacked him upside the head. "Don't go spreading things that aren't true!"

Ponmar only blinked at this display of violence, and continued as if he had not been interrupted. "The kingdom of Xoana was the first to fall, but now with the Barrier down the sorceress has focused her intent upon us, as we would be able to offer little magical resistance. I was chosen to come her to confront her, and, if necessary, to stop her by whatever means available."

Interlacing her fingers behind her head, Lina leaned back in her seat, relaxing a little now that she knew what was going on, and had some food in her belly. "Well, Pon, I can understand your alarm, but the truth is, you don't have anything to fear from me. The only goals I have in life are to travel, eat well, and maybe attack a few bandit gangs now and then--as a public service. After all, villains have no rights, right?" She smiled winningly.

"So you are denying their claims?" 

"Of course!" she said a little too quickly, sitting upright again. "The thought never crossed my mind! I mean, who would want thousands of people worshipping at your feet, ready to obey your slightest whim?" Both Gourry and Ponmar could see her eyes go out of focus, as if she was imagining that very scene.

After a few seconds she became aware of their stares, and laughed in embarrassment, putting on hand behind her head. "All right, maybe I _have_ thought of world domination, but who hasn't?" 

"I haven't," Gourry piped up.

"Gourry, you're _not_ helping!" Lina said in exasperation, refraining from hitting him, realizing it was damaging her 'I'm harmless' image. "But honestly, Ponmar, if I was going to try to conquer your kingdom, I wouldn't send a bunch of lackeys to do it for me. I'd just…oh, I suppose I'd start by blowing up a few things to get my message across--maybe a couple of national monuments…and then I'd--" 

She stopped as Ponmar pushed his chair back from the table, its wooden legs squeaking on the stone floor. "Guards, escort Mister Gabriev back to his accommodations. I believe I wish to chat a little longer with Miss Inverse."

As the guards approached, Gourry tensed, glancing at Lina. She nodded, standing up and crossing her arms, looking supremely confident. "Sorry to disappoint you guys, but Gourry and are in a hurry. I've told you what you wanted to know, and to show you how generous I am, I won't even hold a grudge for this whole kidnapping business."

Gourry stood up next to her. "Lina, our swords."

She added, "And I'll just take back our weapons." 

Ponmar said quietly, "You won't be needing them." He signaled to his men to close in.

Lina scowled. "All right, that does it. I was going to be nice, but if you insist on being so rude, then: Fireball!" 

Nothing happened.

Lina tried again. "Diem Wind!" The temporary blast of wind she expected should have shoved the approaching men backwards without causing too much harm, but again, nothing happened. 

Gourry glanced at her. "Hey Lina, is it that time of the month again already?"

"No, you fool!" She turned to Ponmar, demanding, "What did you do to me?" 

"Nothing, directly." He looked at little smug, raising an eyebrow at her. "So, the great Lina Inverse _can_ be defeated--with nothing more than a little preparation."

"What are you talking about?"

"What is the most feasible way to stop a powerful sorceress? Take away her powers." 

"But--how?" Gourry asked the question before she could.

"Before I came here I did a lot of research about your land, particularly in how to neutralize magical threats. I discovered that there are many areas of land that have been created specifically to null magic, usually for religious temples and such. This cave, and the area surrounding it for many miles is the largest of these non-magical regions."

"Varxin's Realm?" Lina murmured, looking stunned. 

"Ah, you've heard of it."

"What's Varxin's Realm?" Gourry gave her his usual 'I'm a step behind' look.

She answered him absently, working out the details in her mind. "It's supposed to be a myth. See, a long time ago there was a priest of white magic named Varxin who'd spent most of his life battling mazoku. More than anything else, he wanted to keep his people safe from them, so he decided to create a realm where magic was nullified, so that the people who lived there could spend their lives in peace, without being attacked by magical threats."

"He sounds like a nice guy," her blonde companion commented.

Lina smiled a little. "In a way, he was, but the problem is he never stopped to consider what life would be like without magic. No healing, no instant rain to put out forest fires, no help with the backbreaking physical labor of farming, no little spells to make life easier. After a few years of living without magic, most of the people moved away, deciding that they'd rather take their chances with the monsters than live in what had become abject poverty."

"Gee, that's sad. So whatever happened to Zarzin?"

"Varxin. No one knows. Some say he lived out the rest of his life here, too ashamed of the blunder he'd made to ever show his face again. In time, the story of his Realm became one of the most ridiculed legends among magic users--'don't fall into Varxin's Realm', we say, when somebody gets stuck doing some tedious chore. But nobody ever said it was for real," she finished thoughtfully, frowning. _How many times am I going to run into mythological menaces?_

"You know your history." Ponmar had been silent up to now, allowing Lina to fill in the blanks for Gourry. "So you see, it's quite useless to fight. Your magic is nullified. You have no way to escape before you tell me what I need to know."

"And that is?"

"The names of your accomplices, their whereabouts, and exactly how I can defuse your plan of conquest, assuming your second-in-command takes up where you left off." His face was no longer amused, but deadly serious. 

Lina blew up. "I _told_ you, there _is no plan! _Why won't you listen to me?"

"I guess your reputation finally caught up with you, Lina," Gourry remarked, stepping far enough 

away from his ranting friend to be out of the direct line of her fury. One of the guards snickered.

"Arrrgh!" She leaped into the air, tearing at her hair. "Gourry, we've got to get out of here! Remember Amelia?"

"Oh, yeah." He stepped forward to stand back-to-back with her. "Sorry to eat and run, guys, but we've got a schedule to keep." 

Instantly several of the guards closed in on them. With a fierce battle-cry, Lina leaped into the air and slammed her booted foot into one man's chest, sending him flying across the chamber. A second guard fell to a powerful punch to the chin, with the crack of bone hitting bone clearly audible. While the rest of the men stood there, stunned at the small girl's ferocity, Gourry lost no time in seizing two of the guards and bashing their heads together. 

"Better get back, boss." The head of the guard muttered to Ponmar. "And send for reinforcements." 

*

It took over an hour, but eventually the two adventurers were subdued through sheer numbers. An unconscious Gourry was carried back to their cell, as Ponmar looked down at the insensible red-haired girl in regret. "I wish I could be certain of your innocence, but I dare not take any chances. This is the only way I know to be certain."

When the red-haired sorceress woke up, she discovered herself tied down and helpless. "Hey, what _is_ this?" she demanded indignantly, staring up at the cave's ceiling. _It feels like I'm lying on a piece of wood, a board maybe. _She shifted as well as she could, which was not much, as she was bound to the wood at the chest, waist, knees and ankles. Her hands were tied down as well. _Hey, the board moved! It feels as if I'm hovering in midair. _

Ponmar came into her field of view. "You are even more formidable than I thought. It's a pity that a remarkable young woman like yourself should be using her talents to hurt people." 

She opened her mouth to reply, but could not, because the phrasing he had chosen was correct. She _had_ hurt many people in the past. Mostly villains, true, but occasionally some innocent bystanders got caught in the crosswinds--the fate of several dozen of Seyrune's citizens came to mind. She shuddered as a crushing feeling of guilt brought sudden tears to her eyes. 

"I can't deny that…but it was necessary at the time," she said softly. "I've never hurt innocent people intentionally. Sometimes it's an accident…sometimes they're just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The brown-haired man was silent. After several moments, Lina's fighting spirit surfaced. "Hey, what do you know about fighting mazoku? Or--you may not have heard this, but I was the one who destroyed Lord Shabranigdo when he was reborn a few years ago."

"I heard. There are those who claim you were the one who resurrected him."

__

"What?"  


"Wherever mass destruction has occurred, your name has been linked to it. I find it extremely difficult to believe that you were the innocent party in every case." 

"But--"

Ponmar's blue eyes were full of pity. "As history states, no human villain ever believes himself--or herself--to be truly evil."

"Are you saying I'm a _villain_ now? Who's the one picking on a poor defenseless girl?"

The man sighed. "Like you, I am doing what is necessary to protect my loved ones. If that makes me a villain in your eyes, then so be it." Some of the watching men murmured amongst themselves.

Ponmar glanced at them, and hesitated. "I want to believe you. Those magicians we caught--apparently in your land they are no better than fifth-class magic-casters, the lowest of the low. They say they were promised great wealth and power if they followed you and helped you take over my homelands. They are not the kind of men I would believe, to be honest…but your name is infamous here in your own realm, and few have anything good to say about you. I can't afford to take chances--I must know everything you know. I'm sorry."

With that, he raised his hand, and Lina was instantly plunged into frigid iciness. 

*

Amelia had been uncharacteristically quiet all morning. After her earlier breakdown in Zelgadis' arms, she hadn't wanted to start asking awkward questions about his cure; she was unwilling to break the atmosphere of closeness that had grown between the them. She knew both of them were worried about their missing friends, but she was glad to be sharing something like this, especially with him. 

Zelgadis was having some trouble focusing on the current rescue mission. He had been emotionally strained for many days, he had finally managed to achieve a kind of mental peace, and now he had to deal with one of the main causes of his angst. 

Yesterday he had thought about nothing more than who the possible kidnappers were, about the best rescue plans, (depending on whether or not their friends were conscious), and what he would do to the criminals if Lina and Gourry were dead. Amelia was certain that they were alive, but he couldn't help planning for the worst, out of old habits.

Amelia. Today, he kept finding himself thinking of her, instead of being alert for signs of the kidnappers. _She always seems to show up when I need her the most._ She had rescued him from drowning once, had fought at his side in innumerable battles…she had even stood up to Copy Rezo to protect him, back when she barely knew him, jumping in front of a blast of deadly energy with nothing more than a tiny wind shield.

He caught himself glancing up at her for the twentieth time, cataloging the differences between the young girl he had known, and the young woman who rode gracefully beside him on the palomino mare. Unconsciously detouring around the faint memory of his waking dream from the previous night, he decided that physically she looked much the same as she always had--she was even wearing the same sort of outfit she'd always worn. 

Her behavior hadn't changed much, either--even her sudden outburst that morning had been in character. _Grieving over a horse, _he thought, a little embarrassed, remembering his own sharing of that emotion. _And getting more upset about whether or not I was angry at her for the ward bracelets, instead of about her having to go through such a traumatic experience; that's definitely the Amelia I know. _

It isn't she who has changed; I have. Or at least, I've been made aware of something I did my best to ignore…that her little 'crush' didn't fade as I'd assumed it would--it deepened into real caring. 

He stared ahead with unseeing blue-green eyes. _How could she possibly feel that way about me? _he asked himself for the hundredth time. His naturally pessimistic, highly suspicious mind had been turning the Oracle's proclamation over and over in his mind, looking for the catch. 

Thinking back, it's obvious that Lina knew about all of this. In fact, I wouldn't doubt it if this whole 'Oracle' thing was her idea. He found it easier to believe the impish sorceress was capable of such scheming, rather than the forthright princess…and yet, he had gone along with the whole thing, trustingly following the path they had laid out for him, never suspecting Amelia's motives came from anything other than her goodwill. It hurt him in a way that no physical injury could have. 

Gradually the feeling of betrayal transmuted into anger, resentment, bitterness. What bothered him the most was that he had not been given a choice. He'd been treated like a thing, with no rights or feelings, part of a plan he'd had no say in. _Maybe I should just tell her about my cure, and let her take her chances!_ He clenched his fists as red-hot anger burned just below the surface, though his face remained impassive. If his hands had not been stone, his nails would have punctured his skin.

Eventually, he cooled down. _No. I won't go back to that. I'm human…Amelia doesn't deserve… _It never occurred to him that he was doing exactly what he had resented most about the girls' plot for him--not telling her the facts and letting her make the decision for herself. And he was doing it for exactly the same reason--to protect her from possible harm, physical or emotional. 

They're offering me the chance to regain my humanity. In exchange for what? The Oracle said Amelia wanted to marry me. Is that true? And if it is, is it because she really loves me, or simply because she's faced with a forced marriage, with no real prospects? Am I just a convenient way out of a reluctant duty? 

Almost, he convinced himself that this was the correct answer--it was obvious. He was probably the only male of marriageable age whom she knew well. Someone she trusted. _It's only natural--we've been through a lot together; even saved each other's lives. _

He found his condemning thoughts softening a little. _I suppose I don't blame her. I might even have done the same thing in her position. _The hard core of resentment, anger, and betrayal at being placed along a path seemingly of his own choosing, but actually following along naively with someone else's plan, began to ease. 

She won't want me now--not as a stone freak. She was probably counting on this cure as much as I. Poor Amelia. She must have convinced herself that she's in love with me. Of course, that's wrong, he told himself quickly, denying the one tiny spark of hope that wouldn't be smothered. _No one could ever really want a chimera, but…if she did, I might actually…_

For a brief, delicious moment, the stone man allowed himself to think about a future with Amelia, as a member of the royal family. The implied power didn't tempt him--he already had a taste of ultimate power--but at least he was used to those kinds of responsibilities. They were more of a restriction than a freedom, sometimes incredibly boring or frustrating, but no worse than many other jobs. And with Amelia by his side, he…

Amelia. A young, wide-eyed girl on the verge of womanhood. Sometimes silly, sometimes surprisingly mature. She took her responsibilities seriously--was a bit too zealous, maybe, but she had everything a good ruler should have, with her own special flair. 

Still, if I had met her now, without knowing her for years, I might have dismissed her as just another useless airhead of a princess. It never would have occurred to me that she could be so formidable in battle… and it takes a special kind of courage to fight for what you believe in, rather than for money or power. She's…remarkable…

He was bought out of his reverie when Sunshine, who was usually so well-mannered, began to whicker and sidestep nervously. "What's wrong?" he asked Amelia.

"I don't know," Amelia replied in concern. "Something's bothering her." Shiran suddenly appeared out of the forest in front of them, whining softly.

"Now she's doing it." Zelgadis frowned. "Amelia--check on Lina and Gourry's locations."

She closed her eyes and lifted her chin, orienting. "I can't." She looked shocked. "It's not working at all. Something's really wrong." 

"I'll fly up and take a look around." Zelgadis said. "Rei Wing." 

Nothing happened.

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Author's Note: Isn't it funny how even though Zelgadis has Made His Decision about whether or not to get Amelia to help cure him and/or marry her, that as soon as he begins spending time with her he finds himself forgetting his resolution, letting his imagination wander? But he's not one of those people who change their goals easily--once they make up their mind the tend to stick to it, even under extreme circumstances. This can be both a good quality or a frustrating one. Poor guy. 


	31. Chapter 31: I Am Not a Child ,, A Rift ...

**Only Stone on the Outside**

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a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie! 

****

Chapter Thirty-One: I Am Not a Child 

A Rift Opens 

"Rei Wing!" Zelgadis repeated, with the same negative results. He was about to try another spell when Amelia whispered, "Can you feel it?"

He resisted the impulse to ask the obvious question, and simply went silent, trying to extend his senses to perceive whatever Amelia was sensing. "I feel a numbness, a deadness," he reported. 

"Whenever I try to reach out, I feel like there's a wall surrounding me, keeping me in." Amelia looked distressed, her lower lip trembling. "It's awful."

It occurred to the stone man that she had just described the way he'd felt emotionally during most of his life. 

"What could be causing it?" Amelia murmured. 

A vague idea came into focus. "A region of no magic?" Zelgadis had suddenly remembered climbing the mountain in the outer world that resembled a pile of… Well, it had felt exactly like this, as if he were cut off from the use of a limb, no less important for all that the 'limb'--his magic--was intangible. "I've heard of a few, but most of them are in well-known locations. I wonder…"

Amelia surprised him with a rogue giggle. "You mean like that mountain we climbed that looked like--" 

"Amelia!" He could not keep a scandalized expression from his face. "Princesses shouldn't use language like that."

"I'm sorry," she answered, her eyes sparkling, looking not the least bit apologetic. Apparently identifying the problem had brought back her good spirits. 

He wished it was that easy for him. "This is no time for your juvenile silliness," he snapped, more out of worry than anything else. "How are we supposed to locate Lina and Gourry now?"

Too late, he saw that he had wounded her, watching her wilt under his gaze. _Why is it lately that I can never say the right thing to her? _

Amelia bit her lip, as tears stung her eyes, feeling as if an enormous chasm had torn open between them. _He…he called me a child. He still thinks of me as a silly little girl! _It was all she could do to stop herself from protesting his words and making herself sound exactly like the child he accused her of being. 

She turned away from the stone man, looking instead at Sunshine's small golden ears peeking out from her luxurious white mane. They were still twitching nervously. _She must have sensed it when the magic stopped. Shiran, too. That's it!_ "We can use Shiran's nose, like you said before," she replied to his earlier question as if no time had passed, though it had felt like a lifetime since he had uttered his crushing statement. 

"Will that work?" he asked after a moment. 

"It should." She forced herself to meet his eyes. "If you have something with their scents on it."

"Their scents? Why would I have--" He paused. "Lina and Gourry used my cape as a makeshift tent for a few days during a desert stint. It may still have some of their scents on it."

"Good." Amelia swung down from Sunshine's back, handing the reins to Zelgadis in case the mare tried to bolt--she'd felt twitchy enough to try. Then the girl reached out and took hold of a piece of the chimera's cape, his familiar pale tan cape with green lining, and tried not to let memories of all the times she had seen this cape heroically flying around him overwhelm her. 

"Shiran." The dragonwolf came to stand in front of her. "Lost sheep, Shiran. Track the lost sheep." She held the material out to the lilac-furred beast, who sniffed it deeply. 

"Lost sheep?" Zelgadis sounded a little amused. 

The princess was struck by how much she loved his voice when he spoke like that--or any time, really. He had such a rich, melodious voice… She resisted the impulse to reply in kind, though, still feeling the sting of his reprimand that she was too juvenile. _I'll show you I'm not a child anymore. _She looked up at him with shadowed eyes. _You'll see. _

Shiran began circling them, her dark purple nose to the ground. 

Amelia kept her voice level. "One of the commands I learned was for Shiran to track down lost sheep--or anything with a scent. It's easiest to refer to her quarry as a 'sheep' to avoid confusing her." 

"I see." His voice was drowned out by Shiran's excited whining. "It looks as if she's picked up something already."

"Of course. I led us on a path as close to the kidnappers' trail as possible." She tried to keep the annoyance out of her tone. _Does he think I'm such a child that I can't even use a finder spell correctly? _She remounted Sunshine, and signaled to Shiran to take the lead. 

Their trek was never constant, as the dragonwolf periodically lost the scent and had to do some quick circling to track it down again. Amelia kept her eyes forward, and her mind strictly on her business. 

Zelgadis noticed her lack of buoyancy, but wasn't sure whether it was due to his somewhat severe comment, or her concern for their friends. In either case, he felt a little seriousness was appropriate. 

Suddenly Shiran froze, the fur on her shoulders rising. "Shiran, flank!" Amelia said immediately. 

"What is it?"

"She senses something."

"Or someone." The chimera froze, listening, his pointed ears quivering slightly. "Amelia, you stay here. I'm going to go check it out."

She almost protested, then remember her vow not to act like an undisciplined child. "All right. But at least take Shiran with you." 

Startled, he asked, "Will she obey me?"

"She will," Amelia assured him firmly. "This sign means 'attack', and this sign means 'stop'. You already know 'flank'. She'll obey voice or hand, in case you're in a situation where you need to be quiet."

Zelgadis looked at her a long moment, then nodded. "All right, Amelia. Shiran, flank." The dragonwolf immediately looked up at Amelia, who waved her hand toward Zelgadis as if to say, 'go with him'. At once the great beast was at his side, her emerald eyes glowing brighter, quivering to be off. 

Again, the stone man met her eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then turned away and melted into the undergrowth. 

Amelia sat astride Sunshine, stroking a soothing hand over the mare's neck, although it was really the girl who was in need of comfort. "I hope nothing happens to them, Sunny," she whispered.

Ten minutes later, her wish was granted. There was a sudden crackling in the undergrowth, then Shiran came bounding out, her pink tongue lolling happily. "Shirry!" Amelia dismounted and started to hug the great beast, but stopped when a second swish of foliage announced Zelgadis' imminent arrival. 

When he emerged from the forest, Amelia couldn't help giving him a quick look to make sure he was unhurt. The chimera appeared to be all right, although she noticed he was carrying an extra sword around his slender waist. As they stood looking at each other, both of them remembered the last time Amelia had greeted him, and there was more than a tinge of pink over two noses.

When the raven-haired princess made no move toward him, Zelgadis approached her, unbuckling the second swordbelt from his waist. "I thought you could use this."

"Where did you--oh."

He nodded. "There was a perimeter guard about a quarter of a mile from here. I took care of him."

Amelia felt sorry Amelia was thinking sadly for a moment about the poor guard, when it finally struck her: Zelgadis wanted her to use a sword. She looked up at him in dismay. _Oh, no!_

***

"S-s-top, please, stop!" Lina heard herself pleading in a pitiful tone. "I can't take it anymore! This is even worse than the time that fish-man kissed me!" She was shuddering violently, her near-frozen clothing clinging to her, chafing her tender skin, although she had long since lost the ability to feel it. "Well, maybe not…but it's pretty damn close!"

She still could not believe what they were doing to her. Apparently they had discovered a large depression in the stone floor of one of the cavern chambers and had filled it with achingly cold water from a nearby underground stream. Then they had brought in this board and set it the edge of the depression so that they could dunk her under the water to try to force her to talk. Ponmar had called it 'the water test'. 

"The names, then." Ponmar's blue eyes bored into hers. "Why are you protecting these scoundrels, who haven't even the decency to come rescue their leader?"

"What scoundrels?" Lina sneezed, her ruby eyes showing her aggravation, and possibly the beginning of a cold. "I t-told you; there's no plot--we're only in a hurry to m-make it back to Seyrune in time for my friend's wedding. She's the p-princess of Seyrune--that's why I know I don't want to rule the world--there's w-w-way too much work involved. Most of it's all pomp and ceremony and s-stupid rules, like the one that's forcing my friend to get married by her seventeenth b-birthday even though she can't marry the guy she loves."

For the first time, real doubt flickered in Ponmar's eyes. Encouraged, Lina added, "He's under a c-curse that turned him into a chimera with stone skin. Of course, they're not going to let the princess of the white magic c-capital marry a guy who looks less human than some m-mazoku. We've been searching for a cure for months--that's what we're d-doing so far from Seyrune. Only now we're running out of time."

"I've heard of a warrior with stone skin…" Ponmar said slowly. "Is he one of the men in your group?"

"Yes--wait a minute, what group are we talking about?" Lina saw that she still had not convinced him completely. "Look, Ponmar, I'm not saying that there aren't some mages out there who might be p-planning to attack your realm, but you've got to believe me when I say that _I'm n-not one of them. _I've seen the job; I don't want it!" She let out her breath through her frozen nose in a snort. "W-what else do you want me to say? Do you want me to make something up? Will that make you happy?"

Ponmar turned his back. Lina watched his shoulders tense, as if he were having an argument with himself. After several moments, his shoulders slumped and he turned to face her again. She could see the bad news on his face even before he spoke. "I'm sorry, Miss Inverse. I'm not a cruel man by nature. If only there were some way I could make sure you're telling me the truth…" 

"But I--"

"Guards, take her back to her chamber for the night. I can see that the water test has failed. Her strength of will is admirable. I will have to come up with another way to get the information that I require."

"Why don't you torture the man?" the shortest guard asked. "She won't like seeing her lover in pain, now will she?" He chuckled evilly. 

Lina struggled against the two huge bruisers who used knives to cut her free of the waterlogged board and began to drag her off down a side tunnel, but she was too stiff to do much of anything. "He is _not _my l-lover! And if you even lay a finger on him, I'll…" 

Prince Ponmar listened to the protesting redhead until her voice faded away, and sighed. 

***

Amelia felt sorry for the guard whom Zelgadis had killed. _I know that sometimes it's necessary to punish people--we have to enforce the laws of justice and make sure that evil never gets the upper hand--but if circumstances were different I might have tried to convince him to see the error of his ways. _

She stared off into the distance with unseeing blue eyes. _I know people laugh at me; they say 'once a villain, always a villain', but I also know that sometimes people can redeem themselves. Mister Zelgadis used to be a hired mercenary for Lina's rival Martina's old kingdom of Xoana, but look at him now. He's helped us save the world at least three times now…_

"Amelia, did you hear me?" Zelgadis was holding out the dead guard's sword by its scabbard, obviously expecting her to put it on. 

"Uh, well…" The princess bit her lip, fervently not wanting to take the weapon, but also not wanting to offend the chimera. _What should I do? I can't use that sword…I just can't! _

Slowly she began backing away from the stone man, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Mister Zelgadis…I can't do it."

He raised an eyebrow quizzically. "What do you mean 'you can't'?"

"I can't use that sword," she confessed aloud.

"Why not? You've used swords before."

"Not really. That weapon I used to help fight Lord Darkstar is the closest thing I've ever used, and it was really more like Mister Gourry's sword of light than a regular sword."

His teal eyes widened. "You mean you've never been trained how to use a sword?"

"No." She didn't mention that it was because she had refused to learn.

Zelgadis went into his 'thinking' pose, with the side of his index finger touching his chin. After a few moments, he sighed and stated, "All right. I hate to take the time, but I can teach you the basics for now."

"No!" It came out harsher than she meant it to. "I mean, no thank you. I'll be all right."

He stared down at her, stunned. "Amelia, with no magic, your ability to fight is severely crippled--half of your physical attacks rely on magic to give them extra impact. You need to know how to protect yourself with a weapon."

She withered under his incredulous gaze. "I…I just…don't really care much for edged weapons," she admitted in a small voice.

In the charged silence that followed Amelia watched the stone man's expression change from disbelief to exasperation. "Amelia, this isn't the time to get skittish! What are you going to do if someone attacks you with his sword--give him a lecture on justice?"

Tears stung the princess' eyes at this personal attack, but she held her face still, so as not to give him yet another reason to criticize her for being a crybaby. "No, of course not. It's just that…fighting real people is different from fighting mazoku and beings like Darkstar… They don't have real bodies. They can't be hurt by things like swords…but real people--"

"I can't believe this." Amelia winced involuntarily at the anger on the chimera's face. He faced her for several seconds, breathing hard, with his fists clenched. Finally he said coldly, "Look, we don't have time to waste on such a pointless argument. Those whom you call _real people_"--he almost spat the words at her-- "are the ones who kidnapped Lina and Gourry, and that makes them just as much our enemies as mazoku. Now are you going to help me rescue them or not?"

"It's not that easy." She tried to explain. "I want to help them just as much as you do. It's just that--"

"Oh, you do, do you?" Zelgadis had never spoken so cuttingly to her before. "For all we know our friends might be at death's door right now, and just when I need you the most, you're letting me down." 

The open accusation on his face hit her like a blow. Amelia felt her eyes filling with hot tears, and bowed her head to hide them. Only the strength of her conviction was enough to keep her from capitulating to his demand. Slowly she shook her head, and struggled to find her voice, but his next words stopped her.

"Maybe you should just stay here then." Amelia jerked her head up, shock washing over her like ice water at his sudden rejection. Zelgadis stood with his back to her. "If you don't think you can handle it, I'll just take Shiran." His implied insult was obvious--he was furious with her. "She can lead me to the enemy's location. We'll free Lina and Gourry and meet up with you later." 

Though the young princess wanted desperately to protest his decision, the words stuck in her throat, almost choking her. More than anything she wanted his approval, but the thought of using that deadly blade on another human being…of seeing it cut and rip and tear and…_Maybe…maybe he's right. I'd probably be just a liability without my magic. _She swallowed hard, then said softly, "You're probably right. I'd only get in your way…" _Like the child he thinks I am. _"You don't need to worry about me on top of everything else."

He looked at her, his face impassive once again, then nodded abruptly. "Come on, Shiran." He gestured. "Flank."

The dragonwolf approached him, whining to show her distress over their quarrel. Zelgadis turned to leave, then stopped. All she could see of him was his silver-blue hair and pointed ear, and the very tip of his nose past his blue cheekbone. He said quietly, "Maybe you have changed. The Amelia I knew would never back down from a fight, especially when her friends' lives are at stake." He began walking into the forest.

Zelgadis, wait! Amelia wanted to call after him, but instead she stood in frozen numbness. As she lost sight of the moving patch of tan in the foliage, she closed her eyes, not only to shut out the sight of her beloved leaving her behind but also to try to block out the memory of his eyes, of his cold, accusing glare. The young girl felt hot tears creeping out to make streaks down her travel-smudged face. Her throat ached with the effort to hold back her sobs. 

A small whimper escaped before she could stop herself. The young girl heard Sunshine approach, and opened her eyes to see the mare standing nose to nose with her. Big brown eyes blinked at her in concern as she whuffled at the girl. "It's--it's okay, Sunny." Amelia put a hand up to the mare's warm golden cheek, stroking the soft hair. "I did the right thing, didn't I? Didn't I, Sunny?"

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Author's Note: Alea Seikou mentioned 'information given under threat is never a truly reliable source. It makes me wonder if the other magic users who 'ratted Lina out' were subjected to similar methods of interrogation? How can Ponmar claim to be in the clear while using such inhumane means to reach his end?' 

DS--Well, mostly because he got his information from other people. He was told that his people had captured several mages and they all swore that Lina was their leader (some kind of conspiracy to get revenge on Lina, probably) and then he was ordered to capture her and determine the truth. So far nothing he's heard about her from random villagers has been different from what he was told originally…

BTW, Snoof left an excellent review relating to the three kinds of magic and how they're used, so if you've been wondering about stuff like that, take a look. ^__^


	32. Chapter 32: Unexpected Betrayal! Xello...

**Only Stone on the Outside**

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know someone's interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!@ 

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Unexpected Betrayal! **

Xellos to the Rescue? 

__

I did the right thing…didn't I, Sunny?

Once I would have had no doubts, but if traveling with Lina and the others has taught me anything, it's that sometimes decisions aren't always simple or easy. I used to think in black and white, but now…I see grays. I want to help Mister Zelgadis more than anything…but long ago I made a vow to never use any weapons other than my own fists or magic. It's terribly wrong to break a vow…

Thinking about the reason she had made her pledge all those years ago always made Amelia feel almost physically ill, as feelings of loss and grief and horrible, overpowering guilt swamped her mind. She shook her head, trying to focus on the here and now. She sat down to rest and let Sunshine graze, but she was too keyed up to sit still for more than a few minutes. 

The princess got up and began to pace. _I wish I knew what was happening to them! Our ward bracelets _(she thought of the one Zelgadis wore as his, as a permanent link between them) _will only tell me if he's dying, which is useless to me if I'm not there to heal him! …Not that I _could _heal him, if there's no magic… Ohh, maybe I can keep an eye on them with my finder spell. _

She sat down and closed her eyes, tuning out her surroundings. Mentally she reached out, looking for the deep lavender-blue pinpoint of light that was Zelgadis. She found him almost immediately, with Shiran's silver-white with hot-pink edges glow nearby. She noticed Lina's bright carnelian-red light, and Gourry's warm yellow-gold one further away, but after confirming that their signals were unchanged from the last time she'd checked on them, she focused her attention nearby. 

What she saw next made her exclaim aloud in shock. There were at least a dozen malevolent lights approaching her friends, in dark, dangerous colors--muddy reds, ugly yellowish-greens, cruel browns. 

Oh, no! He's walking into an ambush. I have to help him! "Sunny, here!" she called frantically, scrambling to her feet as the mare trotted over to her. She leaped onto the startled horse's back and the were off--like a shot from a flare arrow. 

Zelgadis was preoccupied with his thoughts. Try as he might, he could not put aside Amelia's unexpected betrayal, or his feeling that she had abandoned him. _How could she refuse to help our friends? How could she turn against me like that? The Oracle said she loved me. Some love! _he thought bitterly. 

I've never heard such nonsense--why set apart a particular type of combat? Why swordfighting? Magic can do much worse things to an opponent. Swords cut cleanly, in a lot of ways they're the most merciful type of weapon there is. 

He ground his teeth together. _She's betrayed me. One of the few people in this life I thought I could trust unreservedly, but first I find out that I've been led like a dog on a leash, and now this! _With a touch of despair, the chimera wondered if any humans could be trusted. _Maybe I should stick to animals like Shiran. She was bred to be loyal above all else. _

Shiran suddenly stopped, whining. Instantly he was alert, focusing his senses around them in search of danger. "What is it, Shiran?" The great dragonwolf had gone deathly silent, her long purple-tipped ears quivering. 

An armed warrior burst from the bushes on their right, bellowing a fearsome battle-cry. The slender chimera dodged the man easily, sidestepping with his lightning-fast reflexes and bringing his sword to bear just in time, as two more men charged him. 

Shiran had transformed back into the ghostly wild beast the stone man had seen--and sensed--the first time he'd met her, a snarling force of bristling fur, burning green eyes and razor-sharp fangs. Without a moment's hesitation she had launched herself at one of the men.

Satisfied that the big dragonwolf could take care of herself, Zelgadis returned his attention to the two men attacking him. In truth, it didn't matter if their blows struck--they would never penetrate his skin. They were simply obstacles that had to be dealt with, as they were obviously part of the group that had captured his friends. Coolly, he chose one of the two men to question later for the information, his mouth curving in his old cruel smile. He had been too worried about leaving Amelia alone to spend time questioning the last guard he had dispatched. 

"Halt!" 

Huh? Zelgadis blinked as the two men he was fighting stepped back. A horde of soldiers had appeared out of nowhere. Their leader, a powerful-looking brute with heavily muscled arms and a full black beard, turned to look at where Shiran was wrestling with one of the soldiers, her teeth buried in the arm he had thrown across his throat, and spoke in a gravelly bass. "Would you mind calling her off? I have a message I'm supposed to give to anyone who comes looking for the evil witch, Lina Inverse." 

Zelgadis gave him a hard look, but signaled to Shiran, who released the man and loped to the chimera's side. "What message?" he asked suspiciously.

The man seemed not to hear him, turning a dark glare on the three men who'd attacked. "Idiots! I said, _first_ we get the information, and _then _we kill them!"

"Oh, right."

"Sorry, boss."

The brutish man sighed and turned to Zelgadis. "You just can't get good help these days. All right, now where was I? Oh yeah, our leader wants to talk to all the witch's followers--we were warned about you in particular. We're supposed to bring in anyone who's looking for her, or kill them if they resist. It's up to you. Personally, I'd love to see what it would take to get through that freakish skin of yours."

The stone man did not show any reaction to the barb. He had heard much worse over the years. He narrowed his eyes, assessing the truth of the man's statement. "All right," he said slowly. "I believe I feel the need to 'talk' to your leader as well." 

The men reacted to his implied threat with growls, bared teeth and the appearance of a variety of weapons, none of which, in Zelgadis' estimation, could so much as scratch him. 

The boss-man's face went red with anger, but he only barked, "Leave him alone, you thugs. We'll get our chance to have some fun with him after he sees Ponmar. You three--" he pointed at the men who had attacked Zelgadis-- "since you're so eager to prove your strength, you guys can stay here and guard the perimeter."

"What about his arm, boss?"

"Bandage it for now. When we get out of here we'll make one of those priestess-people heal it."

Ignoring the swords pointed at him, the chimera walked calmly in the midst of the horde, his only concern being to get to his friends as soon as possible. He decided to see how much the boss-man knew. "So what did Lina do this time?" 

The bearded man growled, "Don't act stupid. You know she's out to conquer our lands--you're one of her men--maybe even her second-in-command."

This was news to Zelgadis. _Lina, have you been hiding something from me too? _He mulled it over silently for a while. _I have to admit that she has the ambition and the power to try such a thing, but I'm not sure she'd have the desire. The one thing that I've _never_ heard Lina say she wants is to rule a kingdom. She wants the _riches_ of a kingdom, but not the responsibility. That's too much like work--and she's the type who will never want to settle down. _

He thought about trying to convince these men that their leader was wrong, but he knew that they would assume he was trying to lie his way out. _Besides, who would believe a monstrosity like me? _The abrupt notion of Amelia in the hands of these men made him suddenly grateful that she hadn't come with him. _I have no doubt of what men like these would do to a helpless female captive. _

Determinedly he suppressed the thought. He did not want to think about Amelia. Her unsettling betrayal was like a toothache, always there in the back of his mind, bothering him no matter how he tried to ignore it. 

Darkness came soon to the depths of the forest. Zelgadis chafed inwardly at the delay. They hadn't covered much territory, but the boss had called a halt and ordered his men to set up camp at the first signs of dusk. The chimera realized that without the aid of magical light spells it would be a real chore at best, and deadly at worst, to trek on through the forest at night. _The foliage is too thick to carry torches and risk a forest fire, but without it there's no way to ward off the night predators. _

The men tied him with a rope thick enough to be called a cable, making scathing remarks that Zelgadis chose to ignore. Then they approached Shiran. She snarled and showed her fangs. "Shiran, flank," Zelgadis ordered from his prone position on the ground. "She won't be any trouble unless you threaten either of us."

As the grumbling dragonwolf lay down beside her stone master, the men, cowards at heart, agreed to leave her unfettered. "But if she acts up, we'll take it out of your hide!" 

Zelgadis only made a rude 'tch' sound of scorn at their threats. The men left to eat the evening meal. He did not expect to be fed, and he wasn't, but he heard Shiran's stomach growling and hoped she would have the opportunity to go hunt something for herself soon. _I wouldn't trust anything these barbarians tried to feed us, anyway. _

The camp became quiet after an hour or so, as most of the men were soon asleep. The utter silence was so lulling, in fact, that the chimera found himself nodding off, making up for the sleep he had lost. He was therefore surprised to feel Shiran's bushy lavender tail slap him in the face a few times as she waved it enthusiastically. He shook his head and sat up, only to see a familiar person approaching them.

Amelia? "What are you doing here?" he blurted out, astonished. His alienation of her had been so thorough that he had managed to almost completely block her out of his mind.

"Shh." The dark-haired princess knelt behind him and his stone hands could faintly feel her fumbling with the ridiculous cable the men had tied him with. "There's still one guard left. We don't want him to get away and spread the alarm."

"We?"

"We do keep meeting under the strangest circumstances, Zelgadis," came a voice the chimera knew and despised.

"Xellos?"

"Shh!" Amelia admonished him, working diligently at the thick ropes. "He helped me rescue you."

The stone man glared at the smiling mazoku priest. "Oh, really? And just what do you want for this 'help'?"

"Why do you always think so little of me, Zelgadis? I'm just helping out an old friend who's in a bit of a jam." His smile faltered under the skeptical stare of the chimera. "Wellll, actually…I really can't say at the moment."

"Let me guess," Zelgadis stated sarcastically. "It's a secret."

Xellos held up his index finger as if to say 'you got it'.

Amelia began to speak in a quiet voice. "You see, after you left I started getting worried about you, so I used my finder spell and discovered this ambush. I couldn't just abandon you…" The stone man was reminded of his own thoughts earlier that evening. "…so I rode Sunshine after you, but by the time we caught up you had already been captured. I was going to try to create a diversion, to let you get away, but then Mister Xellos appeared out of nowhere--you know how he always does that--and said it would be easier to get you away from them if we followed them and waited until they'd fallen asleep."

FLASHBACK:

Amelia is crouched behind some bushes, with Sunshine tied to a tree about twenty yards behind her. 

Amelia (her voice full of concern): "But Mister Xellos! What if they hurt him? What if they try to torture him to get the information they think he has?"

Xellos (a gleam in his pale amethyst eyes): "That could be very amusing. Especially if they actually succeed in discovering a way to torture him. It might be interesting to watch…"

Amelia (glares at him fiercely): Mister Xellos! 

Xellos: (pouts): "Spoilsport. All right, I suppose we'll have to do it your way. I have some herbs with me…I'll materialize in front of tonight's meal and drop it in when the cook isn't looking. It will put everyone who eats it into a drugged sleep for about two days, more than enough time to rescue our dour stony friend."

Amelia: "It..it won't do anything else to them, will it?"

Xellos: "Why do you ask?"

Amelia (remembering the terrified stew he had once cooked as part of a challenge, shudders): "Never mind. But supposed Mister Zelgadis has some stew?"

Xellos (mutters): "It would ruin my plans…ahem, I suppose we'd just have to warn him somehow."

END FLASHBACK

Amelia continued, "It worked perfectly. All these awful men will stay asleep until long after we're gone, and we didn't have to kill any of them." 

Everyone tensed as Shiran's head went up, her eyes blazing as she stared at a nearby patch of bushes, a fierce growl throbbing in her throat. Before anyone could react she dove into the thicket. A terrified human scream emerged.

"Shiran, capture!" Amelia cried immediately. Everyone watched as a few moments later the dragonwolf backed out of the undergrowth, dragging one of the soldiers by the seat of his pants. He kept reaching for the sword at his belt, cursing a blue streak all the way, but the large animal's tugging kept him too off-balance to quite reach it. He also looked somewhat frightened to put his hand anywhere near the dragonwolf's deadly teeth. 

As soon as he saw Zelgadis he started spewing out a rather colorful set of invectives, ranging from the chimera's own looks and personality, to questioning his parentage. The enormous vocabulary of foul language was astonishing. Even Xellos simply watched the man with a blank expression.

Amelia shouldn't be listening to this, Zelgadis thought after a few moments. He craned his neck around to look at her, feeling the impulse to cover her ears with his hands. Unfortunately, she was still working on getting the blasted cable loose…he couldn't be sure in the moonlight, but she appeared to be blushing deeply.

"All right, that's enough!" Zelgadis barked. The man shut up, surprised. Then it seemed to occur to him that he ought to attack his enemies while two of them were sitting down, so with a desperate blow he knocked Shiran's head loose from his clothing, and drew his sword, leaping for Xellos. 

His first blow was blocked by the mazoku's staff, which had been moved with inhuman swiftness. The apparent man easily dodged or diverted the soldier's barrage of sword strikes, smiling contemptuously the whole time. Finally, as Amelia finished with the heavy ropes that bound Zelgadis' hands behind his back, the mazoku tired of the game and swung his staff in a lightning-fast double strike, first hitting the soldier's head, then striking his feet out from under him with the other end of it. The man went down without a word. 

Zelgadis reached down and began working on the cable tied around his boots. Then he got to his feet, looking for the tent where the boss slept, intending to retrieve his sword. Amelia followed him as he stepped over the motionless warriors. "Are you all right, Mister Zelgadis? That rope was pretty coarse." He looked over to see Amelia rubbing her hands gingerly. 

"I'm fine, Amelia." Of course, with his skin, he'd never noticed that, but the princess' tender fingers were a different story. He could make out several raw patches on her fingertips and palms. For a moment he wondered why she had not cast a healing spell--and then he remembered that magic didn't work here. 

Xellos was slapping the unconscious man's face to bring him around as Zelgadis emerged from the tent. The man opened his eyes to see Shiran's muzzle just inches away from his throat. He yelped and tried to scramble away, but he only backed into the mazoku's legs. Slowly, he looked up to see an upside-down view of the apparent man holding what looked like a bowl of last night's dinner, which he hadn't had a chance to try yet. Guards were supplied with dried trail rations to keep hunger from making them tired and inattentive. 

"Care for some stew?" 

Instantly suspicious of the man's solicitous tone, he scowled and said, "Yeah, and what's in it?"

"Only the same drug that some of your people gave to Lina and Gourry to make them sleep, so you know it won't hurt you. I'm sure you'd like it better than the alternative."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Why, torturing you to death, of course," the mazoku said jovially.

"Mister Xellos!" Amelia shouted reproachfully.

"Well, I _am _a mazoku, after all." Xellos opened his eyes to display his eerie pale triangular irises. He smiled in a way that was somehow charming and frightening all at once. The soldier gulped, and reached for the bowl, shoveling in the stew like no tomorrow. Within minutes he was out like a light, snoring noisily on the ground along with the rest of his people. 

Meanwhile, the three travelers had been busy building several large fires around the men, banked so that they would last at least through the next night to keep predators away. The two males would simply have left, but the princess insisted. "It wouldn't be right to leave them all helpless and alone here."

Zelgadis grumbled, "They wouldn't show such consideration if our positions were reversed."

"I know," she admitted, looking him in the eye in a curiously mature way. "But that doesn't mean we should descend to their level of brutality."

While he was still stunned by her indirect reference to his past mercenary days, wondering _Was it intentional? _she continued in a reasonable tone, "Besides, we didn't make the effort to rescue you from them bloodlessly just to let them get eaten by predators."

He was silent for a long moment. Finally he heaved an exasperated sigh and muttered, "You should have just killed them. It would have been easier. Now they'll--"

Amelia interrupted him. "You should only kill as a last resort. What if you make a mistake? You can't _undo_ something like that." 

She has a point. But still--"They'll probably come after us when they wake up. We haven't solved the problem, just delayed it." 

"We'll figure something out. After all, justice is on our side. Maybe when they see that they cannot win against our goodness, they'll admit defeat without a blow being struck!" 

Both males developed sweatdrops as they listened to Amelia go into Justice Mode. 

Zelgadis covered his face with his hand. _I should have known she hadn't outgrown this. _He missed seeing Amelia take a look at his face and immediately assume a contrite expression, as if she were sorry she had embarrassed him. Xellos, on the other hand looked back and forth between the two, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Well, duty calls. I think I'll take my leave of you now." The apparent man rose into the air a few inches, his straight black hair and cape fluttering in the breeze. 

What? He's actually volunteering to leave us in peace? Zelgadis thought.

Amelia lifted a hand in farewell. "Thank you for your help, Mister Xellos."

"Good luck with the rescue." The mazoku priest vanished.

*************************************

****

Author's Note: Wing asked why chapter 31 couldn't be found--from my experience, it takes several hours at least for FF.net to actually get around to updating. I usually send in a new chapter late at night, so they have the whole night (assuming their computers update automatically overnight) to do so, but I've never checked to see how long it actually takes. The site says it can take as long as 24 hours, though.

BTW, I've decided to try to update every Monday and Friday night, so look for new chapters on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Alea Seikou asked why Zel didn't make Amelia a staff to use as a weapon. Well, partly because only the bad guys in Slayers ever seem to use them, and partly because--you guessed it--I'm setting up for another scene further into the story about Amelia's past. Look forward to it! ^__^


	33. Chapter 33: Broken Vow,, Allure in the...

**Only Stone on the Outside**

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie! 

Note: In Japanese 'sama' is added to someone's name when you're trying to say you hold them in high esteem. In English it would be like adding the title 'Sir' or 'Master' to their name.

Sensei =teacher

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Broken Vow //**

Allure in the Firelight 

After waiting a few moments to make sure Xellos really had departed, Zelgadis commented suspiciously, "I wonder what sort of game he's playing now." 

Amelia turned to him. "I think he really does want to save Miss Lina."

"You do?" he asked skeptically, raising one stony eyebrow.

She nodded. "Even if it's only because she tends to stir up the kinds of trouble mazoku love. But I have a feeling either he's not allowed to help us openly, or he just doesn't want to admit it to himself." 

The stone man blinked. "What makes you say that?"

Amelia shrugged and then used a phrase he'd heard Lina use in the past, "Women's intuition, I suppose."

Woman? Zelgadis raised a stone eyebrow, not remembering the princess ever referring to herself that way before. 

Amelia gave him a blank look. Then she brought her right arm up to rub her hand uncomfortably up and down over her left one, and stared at the ground. "Um, Mister Zelgadis." Her voice was high-pitched with uncertainty. "I--I was wondering if I could take you up on your offer…you know, to train me how to use a sword--to help you rescue Miss Lina and Mister Gourry?"

Amelia's thoughts were a mixture of regret and resolution. _I feel horrible about breaking my oath, but Daddy was right. I never should have kept on with it after I found out it wasn't necessary…and I would never have been able to forgive myself if anything had happened to Zelgadis!_

The chimera's first impulse was to agree, but then he realized with a shock just what she was doing. Her entire countenance was almost guilty, as if she felt ashamed of her action--something the Amelia he remembered had almost never done. _She's breaking her oath not to use weapons. _

"I--" he stopped, truly at a loss. If he agreed, he would be helping her break that vow, but if he did not, she would have no way to defend herself against whatever dangers lay ahead. After a moment Amelia looked up at him, her shadowed blue eyes full of a kind of regretful determination that told him she would not volunteer to stay behind again. 

As they continued to stare at each other, the stone man started to feel uncomfortable. _I don't know her anymore. _He realized that his confidence in her had been shaken by her recent actions. Though he was glad she had chosen to help him rescue their friends, that very decision made him uneasy. He had not thought she was capable of such mercurial behavior--one thing he had always drawn unconscious comfort from was her strict adherence to her ideals. 

First she betrays my trust by refusing to help me, and now… If you break a vow to yourself, does it count? Or is it really only that you've changed your mind? Somehow while he had been away she had changed much more than he ever would have thought possible. 

Conflicting emotions battled for control inside him. Part of him wanted to acknowledge her sacrifice--to use a sword in battle is very much a loss of innocence--and part of him wanted to glare at her in righteous contempt for her sudden capitulation. He was touched that she had cared enough to come after him, even if he hadn't really needed rescuing, and yet he was furious at her because she had put _him_ in the position of having to chose whether or not she became an oath-breaker, even if the vow had been a foolish one. 

Zelgadis also discovered he felt embarrassed and defensive that she had taken the role of the Rescuing Prince, leaving him in the unwanted role of the Helpless Damsel. All of that, on top of his own recent state of uneven emotional footing was so overwhelming that in the end, he turned away from her and coldly spoke the first words to come to mind. "I was fine, you know. I could have walked away at any time. I didn't need you." 

As soon as the words emerged from his lips he wanted to take them back. Behind him he heard a gasp. He did not turn around--he discovered he did not want to see the presumably devastated look on her face. 

Amelia fought to hold back her tears. _How could he say such an awful thing to me after I was so worried about him! He must really despise me now…but I can't let that keep me from doing what I know is right. He's going to need all the help he can get to save our friends. _She struggled to compose herself. _The least I can do I is not embarrass him by acting like a baby. _

Zelgadis listened to the young girl take several short, shaky breaths, as if about to burst into her famous waterfall of tears, but again she surprised him and only said softly, "Does that mean you won't teach me?"

Stunned, the stone man swung around and stared at her. Amelia's expression was serious, with only the slightest hint of tears glimmering in her eyes. His stone skin was no barrier to the shards of guilt and remorse that stabbed through him. His narrow shoulders slumped, and he lowered his head. "Of course I'll teach you, Amelia." 

"You will?" 

From the glad tone of her voice he expected her to throw her arms around him, and he braced himself for the impact--which never came. Instead he blinked as the top of her head came into view as she bowed deeply before him. "I will do my best to be a good student, Zelgadis-sama." 

As she stood upright, the black-haired princess assumed a ready stance. "What do we do first, sensei?" 

The chimera did not speak for a few moments, trying to adjust to the newest set of changes, while in the back of his mind he was aware of some measure of disappointment that Amelia had not embraced him. "Well, first I want us to put some distance between us and these soldiers."

Amelia nodded and began heading back the way she had come, presumably to retrieve Sunshine. 

"Here," Zelgadis called after her. He strode over to the smallest of the slumbering soldiers and picked up the sword scabbard from the ground next to him. "Wear this from now on." 

The young girl approached him slowly, and accepted the blade with a solemn expression. As she buckled it around her softly curved hips, Zelgadis forced himself to look on in stern approval. "Good," he said curtly. "We'll start your lessons tomorrow. Let's get moving." 

Moonlight shone gently on the forms of the four travelers as mile after mile passed. It was their second night with little sleep, and Amelia, especially, looked as if she would fall asleep in the saddle. Not wanting a repeat of last night's argument, Zelgadis called a halt while there were still a good six hours of darkness left. "We'll sleep in this clearing for the rest of the night and get an early start in the morning. After we've put some more miles behind us we'll stop for our midday meal and have your first lesson." 

Amelia nodded silently and dismounted from her horse. While she removed Sunshine's saddle and bridle Zelgadis collected some wood and used an old trick he'd discovered by accident--he tapped his sword against his stone hand at a sharp angle to create sparks. It took several strikes and a bit of maneuvering to get enough sparks to land where he wanted them, but within a few minutes he had a small fire burning nicely. 

"That was so cool!" He started and turned to see Amelia sitting on her knees nearby, watching him avidly. "Where did you ever learn to do something like that?"

The open admiration in her eyes cooled the heat of resentment that calling attention to his altered form usually caused. Instead of snapping at her to mind her own business as he normally would have, he only sighed and said, "I've had occasion to notice sparks are created when someone manages to strike me with his sword."

Amelia flushed as she recalled that sometimes misguided people would attack her friend upon sight, assuming from his appearance that he must be evil. She still felt somewhat nervous about 

speaking to him. _I'm not sure if he's still mad at me or not. Oh, I've got to remember to think before I speak. Now I've embarrassed him. _She cleared her throat. "Well, um…it's sure a lucky thing for us! I've never tried to start a fire without magic. And it _is_ getting awfully cold out."

__

Oh, that reminds me…

In the flickering firelight Zelgadis watched as the young girl went over to her saddlebag and pulled something out of it. "What's that?" 

"It's a ground cloth," she explained, shaking out the stiff fabric. "You use it to sleep on--it's supposed to insulate against the cold . I haven't needed to use it before now, but tonight feels even cooler than last night." She bent over to spread it out on the dark earth, scattering shining pine needles with the wind she made. "And it _is_ nice not to wake up with dirt and things in your hair." 

The princess knelt on the dark-blue cloth, leaning over to smooth out the wrinkles. The stone man's eyes followed her actions, idly noticing the graceful movements of her arms as they swept over the material, as well as other gently moving portions of anatomy... 

Amelia was aware that he was watching her. She wondered what he was thinking. _He's quieter than usual. Is he still upset with me? Or is it just that he's worried about Miss Lina and Mister Gourry? Or…_She bit her lip, remembering, _He hasn't mentioned his cure even once. Does that mean he didn't--_ Peeking at him out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of an odd expression on his face. _Why is he watching me like that? _she wondered innocently. 

And then, realizing where the stone man's eyes had strayed: _ Oh! _Amelia felt her face redden, but she wasn't sure what she should do. She was caught in the kind of conflicting emotions that made her wish she could ask her mother or sister for advice. _Is he looking at me? I mean, really looking? It's not the first time a man has stared at me, but I always knew what to do, then--wallop him a good one. It's really hard to fight old reflexes, but I…I WANT him to notice me. …But I don't want to be brazen, either; I want him to think well of me. How do I show him I don't mind if he looks? _She closed her eyes for a moment._ It makes me feel really shy, and nervous too. I wonder if Miss Lina feels like this around Mister Gourry? _

The black-haired princess continued to smooth the already wrinkle-free cloth until she couldn't stand it any longer. Finally she sat back on her heels and looked up at the silent chimera. "Mister Zelgadis, is-is something wrong?"

With a start, Zelgadis realized that he'd been unconsciously staring at her. "Uh, no. I, ah, I was just thinking that you haven't seemed as clumsy lately." Inwardly he winced at his lame--and insulting--reply. 

To his surprise, Amelia didn't seem to mind his answer, as she smiled broadly and said, "I told you all I needed was a little exercise." _So he's finally noticing me again! _Suddenly buoyed by the realization that she had somehow managed to gain back some of the ground she'd won back in Seyrune, Amelia bounced to her feet. "I want to show you something."

With a small sound of surprise the chimera watched her turn and dash away from him, her face beaming like a child's. _What is she up to now? _As the girl neared a large tree at the edge of the clearing he began to get a notion. In spite of himself, a small smile tugged at his lips. _She'll never learn._

Amelia sprang an impressive distance up into the tree's lowest branches. "Okay, watch this!" Holding out her arms to the sides, the young girl threw her body forward, her cape flashing in and out as she executed a complicated series of spins, twists and turns in midair. 

Zelgadis actually felt a little awe as she came flying through the air toward him, though he also expected her to land on him, or hit the ground face first, and unconsciously braced himself to catch her. Incredibly, her body sorted itself out just in time to land neatly on her feet in front of him. 

"Well, what do you think?" Amelia wore a pleased-with-herself expression that somehow managed to be cute and bold at the same time. 

He blinked at her, not wanting to seem too impressed. "Not bad," he admitted, letting a little of his surprise show. "But your cape's almost in the fire." 

"What?" She threw a panicky glance over her shoulder to see the brilliant orange flames flickering dangerously near the hem of her cape. "Ahh!" she yelped, leaping forward instinctively--right into Zelgadis. 

"Oof!" Her outthrust hands hit him hard in the chest, knocking him off-balance, his arms windmilling, and the next moment the two of them were lying together on the ground. Amelia had managed to absorb most of the shock with her arms, which were now pressed between her chest and his as she lay sprawled full-length on top of him. 

The two of them stared at each other with wide eyes, frozen in place. Amelia's cheeks were flushed, and she was breathing a little heavily from her aerobatic activity--even through his stone skin Zelgadis could feel every breath she took. He watched the alarm in her dark blue eyes fade away, to be replaced by a very different expression. He was captivated at how they seemed to deepen, pulling him in, holding him within their shining sapphire depths. A faint memory of a vast blue sea, a rose-colored light, and a comforting, devoted presence stirred within him. 

Amelia forgot the pain of her abrupt landing as she was caught up in his gaze. For once, he wasn't trying to avoid her eyes; indeed, he seemed to be searching them, attempting to look into her soul. _Oh, Zelgadis… _The young girl felt her love for him surge up inside of her, threatening to overflow. Gladly, she let herself fall into his blue-green eyes, wanting with all her heart for him to understand how much he meant to her. 

__

Eyes as blue as the sea. The chimera who had once been a man looked into a vast ocean of feelings, slowly realizing that the emotions he was used to seeing in others' eyes were absent in hers. _No fear, no hate. No contempt, or even pity. _Her eyes were shimmering mirrors, reflecting clearly to the stone man everything he had tried to ignore. He felt a twinge deep inside, as the stone wall around his own feelings weakened in the face of her powerful devotion to care for him in spite of all the obstacles in her way. 

There was something else in her eyes, something more than loyal friendship and unconditional love and support. It was as if she needed him somehow…needed something from him that he was not prepared to give. Faintly, he could sense her longing… 

Amelia gradually became aware of his warm breath on her lower face and throat, and realized that he was breathing faster than usual. She could feel his chest, rising and falling beneath her, and wondered if his heart was beating as rapidly as hers was. Instinctively, she slowly began to lower her head, her eyes drifting closed.

Amelia felt the lightest of touches, no more than the brush of a butterfly's wing over her lips, and then suddenly she found herself with a faceful of fur, and a large wet tongue had left a slick path of slobber on one cheek. "Shiran!"

The large dragonwolf affectionately gave her another rather forceful nudge, and turned her muzzle toward Zelgadis, licking him on the cheek as well. He suddenly came to life under Amelia, twitching from Shiran's kiss and making a wordless exclamation of protest.

The mood was broken. The princess slid her hands off of his chest to the ground on either side of him, and pushed herself up, suddenly feeling awkward about looking at the chimera. She stood back as Zelgadis got to his feet, and then went to get some food from her saddlebag, more as an excuse to avoid his gaze than because she was hungry. 

They ate in silence, carefully not looking at each other. Amelia badly wanted him to reach out and put an arm around her shoulders so that she could lean close to him, but was too afraid to break the silence, too afraid that he would tell her what she did not want to hear; that he did not return her love. _I don't even know if he wanted me to kiss him, but at that moment it felt so right…oh, why did Shiran have to interrupt like that? _She could have wept for the lost opportunity. _If he _had _let me kiss him, I would have had my answer._

His long years of practiced impassiveness stood him in good stead. Outwardly, Zelgadis was as quiet and composed as ever, but inside he was a mass of churning thoughts and feelings. His mind replayed the words of the Oracle: _She chose ta love you…she hasn't gotten married yet 'cause she's waiting for you! She has ta perform the spell…the exposure to the dark forces could overwhelm her…nothing's ever a hundred percent certain. _

The stone man wanted to put his head in his hands and rock back and forth, to let his body reflect the same restlessness as his mind. _What am I going to do? I won't allow her to risk her sanity, and without a cure I can't even let her be close to me; I can't let myself get too attached. When this trip is over I'm going to have to say goodbye to her. _

Ruthlessly he suppressed the tiny candle of hope that had ignited, but he could not extinguish it, for the fuel that nurtured it was the love he had seen in her eyes. 

Slowly he was able to calm down. Although he did not realize it, part of his distress was simple anxiety. Things kept happening; things he had no control over. He had felt himself responding to Amelia just now without thinking--had not even wanted to think. It made him feel helpless, as helpless as he'd once been in the power of his grandfather. 

Zelgadis did not so much as glance at Amelia during the meal. He kept his eyes on Shiran. The dragonwolf was safe to look at, as she lay near the fire knawing on a hard biscuit the princess had given her, her pale lavender coat absorbing the reddish light from the fire and turning mauve. _I wonder if Amelia would let me keep Shiran, as a reminder…after all, a city's no place for a magnificent beast like her…_

Making plans for the future made him feel better, more in control. _After we rescue Lina and Gourry we'll deliver Amelia to Seyrune in time for her wed--her ceremony, and…I'll head off to look for someone who can cure me with the Oracle's spell. I'll need to contact Xellos, but that probably won't be too difficult with the way he's been popping up lately. _

The stone man abruptly realized that neither of them had yet mentioned his cure, as if they had made a pact to let the matter lie until the current crisis was resolved. He could no longer doubt the Oracle's words that Amelia did have some feelings toward him, but he knew he could not encourage her. _Eventually I'm going to have to tell her that what she wants is impossible. _As for what _he_ wanted… _I don't know what I want anymore, _he realized.And that thought was the most unsettling of all. 

Amelia yawned, breaking the spell of silence between them. He glanced at her, noting with some relief that her allure had faded; she was just Amelia again. He gave her a half-smile. "Why don't you get some sleep?"

She jumped as he spoke, and turned to look at him. Their eyes met. For a moment he could read the emotion in them like a map, but then she blinked and lowered her eyes, nodding aquiesence. As they were already sitting on her ground cloth, she simply lay on her side and pulled her cape around her, facing away from him. 

It took Zelgadis a while longer before he felt calm enough to try to sleep. He kept thinking about how much she had changed. She was definitely a more complex person that he remembered, with hidden depths and motives that he had never dreamed existed. In a way, it made her a more interesting companion, since he could no longer be reasonably sure of what she would do or say next. 

Just before he fell asleep, for no particular reason he thought, _We're traveling alone together._ Without Lina and Gourry's presence he wondered if Amelia would try something more forward. He also wondered that if she did, would he be able to refuse her? 

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Author's Note: You can tell Amelia's still charmingly innocent--her idea of getting Zel to look at her was to perform aerobatics! Still, I just can't see her coming on to him…except in a very sweet, naive sort of way.

The Narrator wanted to know how Xellos was able to transport into and out of the magicless zone. For starters, I would say zones with 'no' magic actually suppress magic, not completely nullify it--otherwise Zelgadis and Shiran really WOULD have disintegrated. People just say 'null' or 'magicless' as generalizations, since to most people, if ya can't use magic, who cares about the proper technical term for it--gone is gone, ne? And as for Xellos--well, he's no ordinary mazoku--he's the most powerful of them all--and he can call upon his Lord's power as well. But since he's trying to remain incognito, he's only using the smallest amount he can get away with without attracting his Master's attention. 


	34. Chapter 34: Dreaming of You ,, The Ar...

**Only Stone on the Outside**

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie! 

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Dreaming of You //**

The Art of Sword Fighting 

As the night progressed, the little fire Zelgadis had made dwindled, as he had gotten distracted while he was building it (by a certain princess who shall remain nameless) and hadn't banked it right to last the night. Amelia began shivering with cold. She rolled over in her sleep, instinctively searching for the missing warmth, and ended up lying against Zelgadis' arm. He was sleeping on his back, with his arms at his sides. The princess sensed the solid warmth nearby, and grew still. 

A dream began. The raven-haired girl was walking down a bustling street in Seyrune when suddenly a wall appeared in front of her. _What's this? _she thought, puzzled. _Well, no matter. _"Visa Frank!" she chanted, imbuing her fists with magic energy. Then she smashed her way through the wall as if it were rice-paper. 

The sleeping Amelia's arm lifted into the air and wavered for a second, then flopped down across the chimera's chest. Her palm was resting just below the red jewel that his cloak-cords were tied to. Her fingertips twitched a little, picking up the distinctive texture of thick, somewhat rough cloth. 

The dream-Amelia found herself in a large shop that sold various types of fabric, and was struck by a delightful idea. _Why don't I choose something to make Mister Zelgadis some new clothes for when he returns as a human? He probably won't have the same color skin…and he'll likely want something a little lighter and softer than the heavy cotton he wears now. Let's see…he seems to like beige…_

The dream-Amelia enjoyed herself as she went from table to table, examining material of all types and patterns and colors. She picked up a piece of plain tan cloth that was similar to his old clothing, but wrinkled her nose. _He ought to have something a little nicer than this. After all, if everything goes right, he'll be my…he'll be the next crown prince. _ She passed by a table with brightly colored cloth. _Miss Lina would love some of these, but I think Mister Zelgadis would prefer something a little less…flashy. _

She stopped at a table with a selection of slightly higher-quality material. _Why, this is perfect. _Her hand went out almost of its own accord to stroke a light blue bolt of fabric with a simple but elegant geometric pattern in purple along one edge. She envisioned her beloved in a tunic made from this material, with the pattern adding a bit of decoration to the sleeves and bottom edge. 

Amelia's hand, which was still resting on the chimera, moved gently across his chest as her dream-self touched several types of cloth. 

Pleased with her find, the dream-Amelia picked up the entire bolt of cloth to bring home to the castle's tailors and continued shopping. Soon she had added some slightly heavier fabrics (one in a medium shade of blue, and the others in beige and forest green) from which to make trousers. 

Hmm…what about red? she wondered, admiring a rich maroon fabric with a golden-yellow pattern. She twisted her mouth to one side, picturing Zelgadis in it, and shook her head. _No, he doesn't look good in red at all. At least, if his hair doesn't change he won't. Even if it does turn out to be some other color--_she could not imagine what color that might be--_that just means I get to go shopping again--with him. _

The princess decided on a bolt of muted purple with an ice-blue pattern on one edge, and another in light tan with deep teal-green edging that matched his eyes. Her find of the day was a very lightweight linen in a pale cream color. She planned to have it made into an old-fashioned billowy-long-sleeved shirt with a charming gathering of lace ruffles down the front, and at the cuffs. _He can wear it to formal gatherings. Oh, he'll look so elegant!_

The sleeping girl's hand stroked the stone man's chest, eventually ending up under the overlapping layer of cloth from his cape. Gradually, feeling the extra warmth, her hand relaxed and stopped moving.

Though the weight of her arm across his chest wasn't great, Zelgadis' sleeping mind sensed some kind of restraint, and it was enough to trigger his Rezo nightmare. A younger version of himself was alone in a thick forest, practicing his swordsmanship. He chanted his mantra: _I want to be strong! _over and over. Suddenly he heard a familiar sound--the metal rings on the head of his grandfather's staff ringing out as Rezo approached. The sleeping chimera's heart pounded, and his chest began to rise and fall quickly as his breathing grew heavy with the terror of what he knew was to come. 

The dream-Amelia was walking home happily, carrying her stack of purchases when suddenly she was no longer on the street in Seyrune. _Huh? _Instead, she was standing on the balcony at the palace, and in her arms she was holding not a bundle of cloth, but a living, breathing person. She was wearing the same sleeveless white gown she'd worn the last time the two of them had stood on this balcony together, and it was sunset again.

The Zelgadis in her dream was silent, but this didn't bother her much, as that was normal for him. He was holding her wonderfully close, with one hand behind her shoulders and the other at the base of her spine. She had her arms wrapped around his waist and was resting her head on his shoulder, feeling his heart beat even through his stone skin. Slowly the princess tilted her head up to look at his face. His gaze was fixed off somewhere in the distance, his expression full of longing. Amelia knew that he was looking for his cure. 

She sighed. _I wish he would forget about that stupid cure, and just be happy! _But she knew if they were ever to be married, he would have to find a way to become human again, and so she relaxed, composing herself to be patient for as long as it took. Anyway, it was very comforting to have him holding her like that--she knew that it was his way of showing her that he cared about her and would return to her just as soon as he could. Giving in to her emotions, she snuggled deeper into his chest, feeling the warm breeze billow her dress and Zelgadis' cape around them.

In the waking world Amelia was cuddled against the chimera's side, her arm still on his chest. She sighed happily and murmured, "Dear Zelgadis…" 

In Zelgadis' dream-world Rezo's chimes faded, and in a burst of pinkish light he found himself not in a dark forest, but instead sitting in the same beautiful clearing where he, Amelia, and Shiran had slumbered so peacefully a few days ago. He sat up and looked around, spotting the princess sleeping on the thick green grass beside him. As he gazed at her, her eyes opened and she smiled up at him, her face so full of love that he felt his heart flutter in his chest. 

He held out his blue-skinned hand to her, and smiled as she took it and lifted herself to her feet. They wandered here and there, holding hands, laughing and having fun, completely at ease with the world. The raven-haired princess collected wildflowers and made a crown for him--and then squealed in delight as he chased her in a silly game of who-wears-the-crown? When he finally caught her he scooped her up in his arms, and swung her in circles, both of them laughing with joy. 

It was a perfect day with a sky of clearest azure, but nothing came close to the incredible sapphire blue of her eyes. They flew together, Zelgadis rediscovering through Amelia the exhilarating freedom of soaring through the air, of swooping and diving, interweaving imaginary patterns through the heavens. They played another game of Chase among the treetops, until somehow it became a kind of art form: synchronized flying, with each of them trying to match the other's moves in a wonderful dance through the sky.

With the coming of dawn, the sun's first rays filtered in through the trees and woke him. As Zelgadis lay there with his eyes closed, his dream slowly came back to him. _I've never had a dream…quite like that before. Or thought of being with Amelia like that, as if I were a normal man, doing the kinds of things a normal man might do with the girl he…cares about. _

Suddenly he stiffened, becoming aware of the girl, who was still breathing peacefully as she lay half on his right arm with her right arm draped across his chest. His suspicions from the previous night came back to him--she _had_ apparently decided to test him, to see if he would respond to her advances. "Amelia," he said quietly as he felt her begin to stir. "What do you think you're doing?"

The princess took a deep breath and murmured something unintelligible, still more than half asleep. He felt her hand move on his chest, then stop, then move again, patting a couple of times as if she wasn't sure of what she was touching. Suddenly she bolted into a sitting position, staring down at him with such a shocked expression that he began to doubt his assumption. "Mister Zelgadis, how did--did I--did you--"

He got to his feet, only then noticing that the fire was out. "I think you must have been cold during the night." That was what he would prefer to believe, at any rate. He still did not want to think of her as someone capable of such duplicity. 

"Oh…I must have…" Her cheeks went pink, enhancing her attractively disheveled appearance. Zelgadis' eyes were drawn to a curl of dark hair that lay across her cheek. 

"It's all right. I guess I didn't bank it to last all night." Zelgadis tried not to remember his dream, determinedly shoving it to the back of his mind. "Are you ready to leave?" he asked her.

"In a minute," she replied, scrambling to her feet and heading off into the forest where the vegetation was thickest. Zelgadis glanced at Shiran, who was waiting patiently at the edge of the clearing, giving no sign that she sensed enemies around. _Good. She ought to be safe enough. _He went over to the saddlebag and pulled out some travel rations to keep their stomachs from complaining too much until they could catch some game. 

They traveled for the next six hours, covering a good amount of distance before Zelgadis called a halt for the midday meal. "We ought to be far enough away from them now. Even if the soldiers wake up early, it'll still take them a while to follow our trail."

Amelia only nodded. She had been unusually silent all day, which had at first been a relief to the chimera. He had been very grateful that she had seemed to sense he didn't want to talk about what had happened between them the night before, but as the day wore on, he realized that he missed her usual cheerful commentary. He could tell something was bothering her, but he did not inquire. It was not his way. _I usually leave things like this to Lina. It's out of my depth. _

Amelia had been beset by inner qualms all day. The forest had gotten very thick soon after they started out, so to save time Zelgadis had taken to using his sword to clear a path for the horse, slashing through overhanging brush and thorny bushes as if they were paper. He hadn't responded to Amelia's thanks, so after a while she stopped, discouraged. 

She worried that his silence meant he was still upset with her for refusing to help him by learning to use a sword. _He is a man who does not forgive easily. Look at how much he still hates his own grandfather, even though Miss Lina says it really wasn't Rezo's fault. _

She also worried that he found her contemptible for breaking her oath. _He probably won't understand if I try to tell him why I made that pledge. No one ever does. They just look at me and say, 'Why would you make such a stupid vow? You going to stand there while somebody hacks away at you?'_ _They thought I was just being childish and irresponsible--or worse, crazy like…my sister, unfit to rule. _After feeling the stings of many such reproofs, twelve-year-old Amelia had gone to her father and asked to train as a priestess of white magic, and in hand-to-hand combat. 

She wasn't sure whether Zelgadis' reticence was significant or not. He had always been quiet; had never spoken out as often as the rest of his companions, but now his silence was unnerving. Amelia was an expressive person. She had been raised to assert herself, which clashed with her unconscious knowledge that Zelgadis would not appreciate a lot of empty chatter, at least not now. _This is a serious situation, _she told herself firmly. _It would be inappropriate--juvenile, as he said before, to act as if nothing was wrong._

It was frustrating in another way. This was the first time the young princess had ever been completely alone with Zelgadis for such a large amount of time, and she chafed at the invisible barrier that had somehow grown between them. How she longed to reach out to him, to talk with him about their fears, to soothe and reassure him that everything would be all right, and be soothed in turn. 

After they shared a silent meal, Zelgadis stood up and turned to face Amelia. "All right, Amelia. Now I want you to watch me carefully. I'm going to demonstrate the basic moves."

Her uncertain gaze sharpened, and she nodded. "Yes, sensei."

Amelia enjoyed his demonstration--it gave her the perfect excuse to watch his body attentively as he moved. He was all fire and lightning and grace as his slender body effortlessly did whatever he asked of it. She was so enraptured at the sight of her chimera leaping and whirling and posing just for her that she hardly took in the names of the moves. 

Shiran thought it was a new game and leaped at Zelgadis with a wolfish smile, and had to be told to sit aside. The dragonwolf watched her bonded ones and panted happily, her long tongue lolling over lavender fur. 

"Now you try it." Zelgadis ordered. Amelia hesitated, then began to emulate his actions. If she had not just seen the way he moved, she might have had trouble. _It's like a kind of dance, _she realized. _With patterns and balance playing a big part. _Slowly she repeated each of the stances, the blocks and parries and thrusts. Zelgadis was more patient than she would ever have thought, verbally correcting her and giving a satisfied nod of approval when she got it right. 

The princess was surprised to find herself panting after a short while, and soon began to sweat. _It sure takes a lot of energy! _When Zelgadis called a halt after an hour, she dropped gratefully to sit on the ground. "You can rest for a short time, and then we'll practice sparring."

Inwardly she winced, only now noticing the sore places on her hands that would soon become blisters, but said nothing. _I don't want to look like a complaining child. _Besides, she knew she had only a day or two to learn enough to be able to protect herself in battle, at least until Zelgadis or Shiran could come to her defense. 

Zelgadis surprised her by commenting, "It's a good thing you're used to fighting real opponents."

She looked up at him with questioning eyes. He explained, "You won't flinch when they come at you. One of the first things you need to realize about sword fighting is that it isn't always the most skilled combatant who wins--it's the one who's most determined not to lose."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Look at Lina. She claims to be an expert swordswoman--and I don't deny she is skilled--but her greatest asset is her fighting spirit. She's fast and willing to take risks, but she doesn't act out of desperation or let her opponent fluster her into mistakes."

Amelia wrapped her arms around her knees and said sadly, "She's a remarkable person." _Oh, Miss Lina, where are you? Everything's gone so wrong…_

The stone man caught the forlorn expression on her face. He softened. "We'll get them back, Amelia. I swear it." 

The young girl heaved a great sigh of unhappiness, but forced herself to say in a fair approximation of her usual optimism, "Of course we will, Mister Zelgadis." 

They followed Shiran's nose to a nearby stream, where they drank and splashed their faces. Amelia thought longingly of a luxurious hot bath, but firmly turned her mind away from such thoughts. _A few weeks ago I was wishing I could be with my friends. I'm glad I'm here--what if I'd stayed home and learned later that some of them had died? I'd spend the rest of my life wondering if I could have saved them. _

The sparring did not go nearly as well as her earlier lesson. Bewildered, Zelgadis thought, _I can't understand it. She knows the moves reasonably well now…how hard can it be to put them into practice? _The young girl cooperated enthusiastically enough, but something was missing. _Parry, parry, block, parry… _"Amelia, you can't just keep blocking my strikes. You're not fighting my sword, you're fighting _me_. Come on, attack me."

Her eyes widened. "But what if I--"

"Hurt me?" He gave her a sarcastic look, one stone eyebrow raised. She looked embarrassed, a line of pink over her nose and cheeks as she obviously realized what she had just said. She smiled sheepishly, and resumed her former stance, sword held ready. Then she let the blade drop. 

"What now?" he asked exasperatedly. 

The princess hesitated. "If I attack you for real your clothes will get all torn up. It's not like you can buy any more out here." 

The stone man clenched his fist, a growl of irritation trying to emerge from his throat. After a few moments he sheathed his blade and reached up to the fastening of his cape. He did not notice Amelia's look of shock as he pulled off his cape and the tunic under it and dropped them to the ground. Clad only in his pants, he faced her with a grim expression. "Amelia. Believe me when I tell you that I want you to try as hard as you can to kill me. Now come on!" he barked. 

She jumped, her eyes widening, and brought her sword up to point it at him. He crouched slightly, and pulled out his own sword, giving her his trademark evil smirk. "I'm one of the men who kidnapped your friend, the witch Lina Inverse. I would enjoy nothing more than to kill you," he growled, "to hear your screams of agony and know that the last thing you hear as you die is the sound of my laughter."

Zelgadis watched as her eyes seemed to burn with the justice-fire he knew of old. _Finally! _Then she began to stalk him, circling him, searching for a weak spot in his defense. He jabbed his blade at her, and was pleased to see she was not taken in by his feint, for her intent gaze never wandered from his torso. He remembered telling her that one could sometimes predict an opponent's moves by reading their body language. _Even allowing for the fact that my moves are easier to predict since I'm shirtless, I think she has the potential to be a first-class swordswoman someday. _

After a few minutes he deliberately let his defense slip, to see if she would take advantage of it. _No. She's still concentrating more on keeping her distance from me. She has to take the initiative if she wants to keep her life in this damned magicless land! _

Lowering his head, the chimera leaped toward her, his sword held off to the side. It was the kind of clumsy attack that a drunken soldier or a berzerker troll might use. He was hoping she would try to ram her blade right through his unprotected bare chest.

He saw indecision in her eyes for a split second but then she dodged out of his way. He caught her arm as he ran past her, and skidded abruptly to a stop. Her blade went flying off to bury itself under the rust-colored pine needles.

"What is the _matter_ with you?" he demanded. "If I were an enemy you'd be dead by now. You're not even trying."

"I'm-I'm sorry," Amelia heard herself whimper. "This is very hard for me." She turned away from him, ashamed of her weakness, unable to look him in the eye. _I keep picturing her in my head, what she looked like…_

The chimera released her arm. There was a short pause. "I don't understand you." His voice was an audible reflection of the chimera's baffled frustration. "What is so difficult about this? You made the decision to give up your oath, and I know you're not afraid to fight--in fact, sometimes you're too eager for your own good. So what's holding you back?"

Underneath the impatience, Amelia sensed a note of curiosity, and a real desire to get at the source of the problem that balked him. The princess tensed, feeling as if she were about to plunge into an dark, icy lake. _He…he deserves to know why. But--it hurts so much to talk about it…to remember… _

Zelgadis stared at the young girl in dismay as her face slowly crumpled into an expression of such abject misery that he sheathed his sword in one swift move and stepped toward her, his stone hands carefully gripping her upper arms. "What is it, Amelia? What's wrong?" 

The genuine concern in the chimera's voice brought Amelia's awareness back out of the shadowed corner of her mind where she kept all of her darkest memories. She tilted her head back to look up at him, her deep blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears. For a moment she could not speak, struck by the beauty of the man standing before her. Her eyes traced the features that she so wanted to touch--his noble high cheekbones, his lips, his pointed chin with its smooth dark stones, his unique jawline that led back to those gracefully tapered ears…

His body was just as beautiful. She could not help moving her gaze down over his muscular yet astonishingly slender frame, taking in his long slim arms, his bare chest with its smooth blue skin speckled with pieces of darker stone here and there. Suddenly curious about their texture, Amelia had to resist the sudden urge to touch them. 

After a few seconds her gaze returned to his eyes. Surrounded with those same protective stones, the chimera's dark blue-green eyes were as much windows to his soul as any pure human's could be. Now they were reflecting equal measures of worry and concern as he focused his full attention on her, trying to fathom the source of her anguish. _Dear Zelgadis…_she thought, soaking up his emotional sunlight, the tension in her shoulders easing. She smiled up at him, a smile full of tender appreciation for his caring. 

Zelgadis had watched, captivated, as the princess' expression changed from heartbreaking grief through surprise to the one that always caught him unawares--when she gazed at him as if he were the most wonderful person in the world. His instinctive response was so compelling that it was all he could do to hold himself still, to keep himself from folding her into a protective embrace. _Enough of that, _he told himself fiercely, forcing himself to release her arms. _She has to learn to stand on her own two feet--you can't keep on shielding her…like the child she still is. _

Sure enough, after a few seconds the young girl smiled weakly and reached up to brush the tears from her eyes. She sniffed a little and sighed. "Sorry. It's something I don't like to talk about." 

As he gazed into her shadowed blue eyes something he'd once heard and forgotten about suddenly burst into the forefront of his brain. Even before she began to speak, he knew exactly what she was going to say. "You see, when I was a little girl, my mother…"

Unconsciously he covered his own mouth momentarily with one hand, holding up the other one in a 'stop' gesture. "No…Amelia--you don't have to--"

Though her voice was quiet, he could hear the tone of determination in it. "No, you deserve to hear the story. And maybe…maybe I need to tell it."

Their eyes met, and after a moment, he nodded.

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Author's Note: Shaherezad1 and Claudia22 both asked: How did Amelia use her powers to locate her friends in Varxin's Realm of Null Magic? 

First of all, wonderful! People are really thinking as they read my story! *Happy grin*And second, Amelia was using her magic right on the fringe of the Realm, not in it. Thus, she could sense what was in the Realm as long as she was doing the magic from the outside. Once she went in after him, of course, she had no powers to speak of. 

BTW, when Amelia calls Zelgadis 'Dear Zelgadis' she is not calling him '--sama', like Sylphiel called Gourry in season one--or at least, that's how they translated it into English. For some reason I find it difficult to have her think of him as 'honey' or 'sweetheart'--blech! 


	35. Chapter 35: Amelia's Tragic Tale

**Only Stone on the Outside**

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie! 

****

Chapter Thirty-Five: Amelia's Tragic Tale

Amelia took a deep breath. "When I was little, the palace was the whole world to me. I was allowed to roam anywhere I wanted, to explore everywhere from the dungeons (which were rarely used) to the highest towers. I remember thinking if I were just a little taller I would be able to touch the clouds.

"But there was one place I wasn't allowed to go. The armory. As I got older the temptation to enter it grew, until one day I gathered my courage and managed to sneak in. I was caught almost immediately, of course, but in the brief glimpse I had of the place the impression I got was a room full of shining metal, sparkling with jewels and looking nothing like the little wooden toy sword I had been given to play with. There was one sword I remembered in particular that had its own stand to display it, with a beautiful bright emerald set in the hilt. 

"My daddy sat me on his knee and explained that even though he understood that I was curious, and that curiosity was a good thing, it was a bad thing for me to go inside that room."

****

FLASHBACK:

Little Amelia: "But why, Daddy?"

Prince Philionel: "Only grown-ups can touch those weapons. People can get hurt."

Little Amelia: "So when I'm a grown-up, I can touch them too?"

Prince Philionel (lifting his child into the air, a big smile on his face): "Yes, Amelia, that's exactly right. What a smart girl you are!" 

****

END FLASHBACK

Amelia smiled ruefully. "My father thought that ended the matter, but he had forgotten how a child's mind works. You see, a few weeks later there was a rumor that one of the more ambitious kings far to the west had decided to expand his borders. My father was chosen to go and confront this man, to inform him that Seyrune and those kingdoms allied with us were prepared to balk his attempts in order to keep the peace that had existed for several decades." 

****

FLASHBACK:

Prince Philionel (dressed in traveling clothes): "I'll only be gone for a little while, Amelia, don't cry."

Little Amelia (sniffs): "But why can't I go too?"

Prince Philionel: "I need you here, to look after your mother and sister for me. I'm counting on you to be a big girl while I'm gone."

Little Amelia (gives a little smile): "Okay, Daddy. I'll take good care of them!"

****

END FLASHBACK 

Zelgadis noticed that the longer she spoke, the more she sounded like the child she had been. 

"For the next few days things were normal, if dull without Daddy around. Then one day there was a terrible rainstorm. I was supposed to stay in my room and play with my toys, but when I heard a big fuss out in the hallway I got up to listen at the door. There were guards rushing back and forth, talking about an intruder who had managed to get past the outer defenses.

"I was very excited. One of the games I played with my daddy was where the brave swordsman fought off the mean intruder and rescued the helpless prisoners. I knew exactly what I had to do. I opened the door a crack, ready to leap out and confront the evil man, but I only saw the grim faces of the guards passing by. I think it was then that I realized how serious the situation was. I knew most of the men passing by, and not one of them smiled at me, or even noticed that I was there. I knew then that this was no game. 

"I was afraid, but I also remembered the promise I had made to Daddy to protect my mother and Gracia, my big sister, and I knew that I couldn't protect them with my little toy sword. Then I remembered the armory. Without hesitation I headed off, slipping in between the guards. A few of them asked where I was going, and I lied, saying I was going straight to my mother's rooms. 

"None of us knew that my mother had sent my older sister to get me. She panicked when she found my room empty, searching through the halls until a guard told her where I'd said I was going. 

"Meanwhile, I had managed to enter the armory unnoticed. Most of the shining swords were gone, but the special one, the one on its own stand, was still there. I stood and looked at it for a little while, because I knew my daddy had told me not to touch the swords. I _knew_ I was disobeying. I remembered his exact words: _'Only grown-ups can touch them. People can get hurt.' _

"But as I stood there, I also remembered when he said, _"I need you to look after your mother and sister for me. I'm counting on you to be a big girl while I'm gone." _

"'I _am_ a big girl, Daddy. I'm grown up!'" I said out loud, full of confidence. "'I'll protect them with this sword until you come back, just like I promised.'"

"And then I reached out and wrapped my little hands around the hilt of the sword and tried to lift it. It was much, much heavier than I thought it would be. The hilt hurt my hands, so I let go and blew on the spots that hurt. Then I set my teeth and squared my little shoulders and gripped the hilt and tugged with all my might. I felt the stand tip, and scrambled out of the way as it fell. The sword landed with a clatter, the metal ringing deafeningly on the stone floor.

"'What was that?'" I heard a man's voice yell. 

"Suddenly I was a frightened five-year-old, and I scrambled up and hid behind the door just as someone opened it. The wooden door swung toward me, trapping me between it and the wall. I held my breath, trying to make my heart beat more quietly, because it was so loud in my ears. I could hear the man breathing too, but after a few seconds he must have assumed the sword stand had fallen over on its own, and that the space behind the door was far too small for an adult intruder to hide in. The door closed. 

"I took a deep, shaky breath, and decided to find my mommy. I forgot about being a grown-up protector, and just wanted to feel her warm, safe arms around me."

At this point, the Amelia standing before Zelgadis seemed to shrink a little, crossing her arms and rubbing her hands on her upper arms as if to ward off a chill--or something worse. The chimera felt a twinge of concern, a desire to reach out to her, but held himself back, reminding himself he would be doing her no favor by coddling her. 

"Suddenly there was a huge uproar from the guards, and the thunder of booted feet all charging in one direction. I waited until everything was quiet, and then slipped out of the armory and made my way down the empty corridor toward my mother's rooms. 

"I knew something was wrong as soon as I saw the group of women servants weeping in the hall outside my mother's chambers. From the depths of the castle there were men's shouts of rage, screams of pain and fear. I felt a heavy lump form in my belly, and dashed through the women before they could stop me, determined to find my mommy." 

Zelgadis the Cold-Hearted Swordsman winced, and closed his eyes for several seconds. "And you saw--"

Slowly, the young princess nodded, her eyes dark with misery and remembered horror. "The intruder was an assassin sent by the king my father had gone to talk to. My mother…wasn't my mommy anymore. The intruder's weapon had…" She stopped, covering her mouth with her hand, her throat spasming as she tried to hold in the sobs, to finish the story that had long gone untold. 

The chimera's resolve evaporated. "Amelia," he murmured, reaching out to hold her, but to his astonishment it was she who held out both hands in a 'stay away' gesture. 

With tears running down her cheeks, the brave young girl continued in a wavering voice, "Her entire body …had…cuts and slashes all over…ribbons of skin and flesh were hanging from her like…and her throat was a wide-open wound, with bright red blood in a pool all around her…" Amelia stopped, seeming to choke for a moment, as a sob emerged from her throat.

"As soon as I saw her I screamed, "'Somebody help her!'" I knew there were healers who put out their hands and a white light came from them and made my boo-boos better. "'Help! Save her! Mommy!'" 

"I was surrounded by the women who pulled me away. I screamed and fought and cried, but deep in my heart I already knew that my mommy was dead."

With the childish voice still echoing in his mind, Zelgadis watched as Amelia's eyes slowly focused, bringing her back to the here-and-now. She was trembling violently, and looked to him to be on the verge of collapse. Tentatively, remembering her earlier rejection, he took a step toward her and opened his arms. She only hesitated for a moment before throwing herself into them, weeping wholeheartedly. He stroked her midnight hair and rubbed her back lightly, wishing there was something more he could do to ease her anguish. 

After a few minutes her deep, wrenching sobs eased. As her breathing steadied, he became aware that she had her arms around his waist, and was resting quite a bit of her weight against him. He tried not to think about the feel of her chest pressed against his still-bare torso, thankful for once for the duller sensitivity that his stone skin provided. He breathed in her scent, strawberry shampoo and warm skin and a tang of sweat from all the training practice. 

With her cheek pressed against his hard, warm shoulder Amelia said softly, "Remember what I said about the way a child's mind works? I knew about magic--my big sister Gracia was being taught white magic, which is sometimes used to lift curses, and I remembered what my daddy had said about the swords--if I touched one, someone would get hurt." Her voice trembled violently. "I thought it was a magic sword--that I must have cursed my mother when I disobeyed my daddy and touched it…"

"Oh, Amelia," Zelgadis said softly, tightening his hold on her as much as he dared. _She believed she was responsible for the death of her own mother? How did she cope? She's always seemed so bright and happy and confident in herself… Would I have been able to go through something like that at such a young age and emerge from it relatively unscarred? I was verging on adulthood when Rezo cursed me…and I, more than anyone, know how deeply my scars run. _

The young princess took several deep breath and continued, "Right then I made a vow to never, ever use a sword again, as long as I lived. Even the sight of one was enough to give me hysterics for months afterward… although now I think it was due more to my secret guilt than to fear. I didn't want Daddy to hate me--so I never told anybody what happened. They all had their hands full with my sister anyway. Daddy did what he could to ease my fears, and we grew even closer than we had been, especially after Gracia ran away from home, years later." 

Inwardly the stone man winced, suddenly remembering his own unthinkingly cruel comment about Amelia's sister years ago, at a time when her father had been thought dead. He bowed his head down over hers, listening to her solemn words. "I didn't find out until then that she had been trapped in my mother's chambers, hiding, watching as the assassin ended my mother's life, too afraid to try to save her. She…never really recovered, mentally. I suppose I was the lucky one. I was young enough to forget, after a while." 

She sighed softly, still sounding a little sad but no longer radiating such terrible pain. "We never found out if my mother was his intended target, or just someone who got in the way. The guards caught the assassin, but he fought them and they had to execute him."

The two of them stood together quietly, neither one wanting to be the first to pull away, treasuring the warm intimacy of the moment. Amelia was slowly relaxing against Zelgadis, thinking, _I told him my deepest, darkest secret, and he didn't turn away from me. _She breathed in his unique, comforting scent, that of sunwarmed stone with a hint of metallic tangyness, and let herself enjoy his warmth and the feel of his bare hard chest pressed against hers. She realized that she could feel the extra stones that were scattered across his body, but she was too caught up in the feel of him breathing against her to care. 

Zelgadis was still trying to associate a scene of such horror with the perky, spirited female companion he'd known for years. _I would never have guessed it…unless her fearsome drive for justice stems from this event. And for that I can't blame her. _Eventually he commented, "I can see why you'd never want to use a sword." 

Amelia surprised him with a weak chuckle. "That's the irony. You see, when I was twelve they tried to make me learn to use one. I'd overcome my fear of them, but I never quite got over the feeling that I'd somehow caused my mother's death, and I never forgot my oath. I made such a fuss that they asked my father to talk to me--and that's when the full story came out. I was terrified that he would turn away from me, revile me, maybe even disown me."

Her voice took on a tone of wry amusement. "I'll never forget what he said, after I'd managed to stammer and stutter my way through the story…he said, "But Amelia, didn't you know? The assassin didn't use a sword--he used a razor-whip." 

Zelgadis cleared his throat, hiding his amusement, being tactful for once. "You mean, no one ever told you?"

"No, of course not; no one was cruel enough speak to a five-year-old about her mother's murder. And I was too afraid my guilt would be found out, so I just tried to forget." She laughed quietly, distracting him for a moment with the movement of her soft flesh in his arms. "I felt so foolish--I couldn't decide whether to be mortified at my mistake, or relieved to learn that it hadn't been my fault at all." 

The chimera smiled as he looked out over her head, picturing a younger version of the girl he held fearfully confessing to her 'crime' only to end up red-faced with embarrassment. "So I assume Prince Phil never made you learn to use a sword." His voice was warm with amused affection. 

She nodded against his neck. "I trained in other ways to defend myself. You see, I've never really gotten over what I thought happened to my mother, but now with Miss Lina and Mister Gourry missing, I can't just stand aside and hide behind an oath that has no purpose anymore. There never was a curse, after all." 

"I see." The chimera's voice was thoughtful now, remembering how upset he had gotten when Amelia had more or less asked him to help her become an oathbreaker. _ Situational ethics I can live with. _ He closed his eyes for a moment to savor the feel of her cuddled trustfully against him, and then took her by the shoulders and pulled her gently away from him. She looked up him questioningly. 

"I'm sorry I was so hard on you earlier." He tried to let his regret show on his face, though he was long out of practice at this sort of thing. 

She gave him a forgiving smile. "That's all right, Mister Zelgadis. You didn't know. Nobody knows, except my daddy…and now you." 

He released her shoulders and inclined his head in her direction, responding solemnly, "I'm honored that you chose to take me into your confidence. Now, what do you say we try again?"

This time her smile was her usual bright beam. "Yes, sensei!"

As he bent down to retrieve her sword from where it lay under the pine needles, Amelia put her hand on his upper arm. "And thank you for comforting me, Mister Zelgadis. I know this isn't easy for you." She released him without clarifying what she meant. 

Teaching her the sword isn't easy? Or comforting her? Or this whole situation with my useless cure and missing friends and Amelia getting married before I have the chance to-- He broke off his thoughts, deliberately focusing on the immediate task of getting Amelia competent with the sword. 

***************************************

****

Author's Note: I admit I based this chapter on the somewhat-well-known fact(?) that Amelia's mother was murdered. I saw a lot of potential here--so I added a lot more details to flesh it out into a real story, with the kinds of repercussions such a tragedy might have on a child. And I couldn't resist the opportunity for some more fluff! ^__^ 

And Now: What's been happening to Lina and Gourry all this time? Got some major changes in the status quo coming up between these two! *Rubs hands gleefully in anticipation* 

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	36. Chapter 36: In Close Confinement with G...

**Only Stone on the Outside**

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

__

Note: Someone alerted me as to an inconsistency in my plot: See the Author's Notes at the end of the chapter to find out more.

****

Chapter Thirty-Six: 

In Close Confinement with Gourry Gabriev

__

This is my chance. Head hanging, the petite sorceress deliberately let the two burly guards drag her by the arms, trailing her feet--and a wet trail of water--limply behind her on the stone floor of the cave. _If I can fool them into thinking I'm helpless, they'll lower their guard and I'll flatten them. _

Surreptitiously Lina opened an eye, trying to see the passageway through her wild mane of dripping red hair. _It's not really the best time for an escape attempt, but we don't have a choice. Zelgadis and Amelia don't know where we are; if they did we would most likely already have been rescued by now. It's up to me--if I can stop shivering long enough to wipe the floor with these two. _

She was almost startled enough to move when one of the guards surprised her by saying, "It's too bad a cute thing like her is so evil. Ya gotta respect her for not wanting to betray her men, though."

"And for the way she fights. She'd be a heck of an ally if the boss could only make her see the light." The other man answered, shifting his grip on her arm slightly.

"She says she ain't looking for trouble. I tell ya, I don't know who to believe any more. I'm just glad it ain't my job to decide." 

"Yeah, well, them outlaw mages are getting bolder. I got a cousin who lives in a town one of 'em tried to take over. Took the town councilor's daughter hostage. They got him in the end though. He claims Lina Inverse told him to do it."

__

That's a lie! Lina clenched her teeth together to keep from blowing her cover. She tried to relax her cold-stiffened limbs and let her head loll to the side as if she had passed out.

"Hey, wait a minute." Lina heard the first guard say. "She's all done in." To her surprise she felt herself being lifted up into the man's arms. She remembered just in time to keep her body lax, and felt a sharp pain in her neck as her head swung around limply to bump into the man's chest. She could smell his breath--not the sweetest thing in the world--but the sensation of being carried by someone large and warm brought back comforting memories of her earliest childhood days. 

"Why don't you go make us some coffee?" her human steed said to his companion. "It oughta be good and hot by the time I get there. I wanna change outta these wet clothes. I got splashed a couple of times by the dunkings, and the last thing I need is a cold on top of all this."

__

Don't even mention cold! Lina groaned mentally, trying to suppress another shiver. Her skin was slowly warming, but not her insides. 

"You sure? What if she wakes up?" 

"What, in the next five minutes? We're almost to her cell."

"Okay." Lina listened to the sounds of booted feet kicking loose stones down the stone corridor, with one pair retreating into the distance. She repressed the urge to grin. _What luck! One down, one to go._

"I got a daughter about your age." She almost jumped at the guard's quiet tone as he continued to walk deeper into the cavern. "Still has her whole life ahead of her…that's why I'm here. For her. Sometimes young people make the wrong choices, or get mixed up with the wrong crowd. People will make you big promises, but in the end all ya usually end up doing is holding the bag while they get away. Little girl, I don't know if you really are the head of these mages, or if they're all just lying to save their own skins, but from what I hear ya got a lot of power and it's up ta you to decide how ta use it. You don't need ta be somebody else's lackey." 

__

Hey! He thinks I'm some naïve, misguided teenager following along with somebody else's plan! Lina couldn't decided whether to laugh or be insulted. _As if I'd ever let anybody else tell me what to do! _The gentle rocking motion that came from being carried was soothing, though, so she decided to let it pass. _ He's trying to talk me out of what he thinks is a mistake that'll ruin my life. He thinks if I tell them who's controlling me that they'll take my age into account and give me a second chance. He must really love his daughter…but he's the kind of man who's honorable and absolutely loyal to his ruler. He'd never let me escape with Gourry…would he? _

Her orange brows drew together slightly as she tried to decide. _Should I try to talk him into letting us go? He's got no proof that I'm innocent--in fact, he seems to think I've been doing evil in someone else's cause . He's seen me fight--for all he knows I could attack Ponmar, and it would be his fault. If he refuses to help me I'll have lost my chance to take him by surprise. And damn it, I made a promise to Amelia that I'd be there on her wedding day, with or without Zelgadis!_

The rocking motion ceased. "We're here," the guard said. "Now why don't you think about what I've said while I go--eyah!"

Lina had managed to squirm out of his lax grasp, and now stood unsteadily across the hallway. _Whoa, I'm stiffer than I thought. Parts of my legs and feet still feel numb. _She gritted her teeth. _Gotta make this quick, then._

Without warning the petite redhead had launched herself at the surprised guard, her feet extended, aiming at his chest. It was one of her most effective moves, as her earlier fight had proved. However, then she had been relatively fresh from two days' of enforced rest, instead of weak and stiff from being half-drowned in numbingly cold water. 

It also helped if her opponent hadn't recently seen her fighting style. Lina let out of squawk of surprise as the big man moved instantly, crossing his forearms in an 'x' across his chest to block her kick. She collided with them and bounced off, somehow managing even in her stiffened condition to twist in midair to land on her feet. Unfortunately, as she did so, the treacherous loose rocks on the stone floor betrayed her, sending the petite sorceress crashing to the ground face-first before she knew what hit her, knocking the wind out of her. 

As she lay there half-stunned, choking and gasping for air, she was vaguely aware of her arms being seized from behind. "Why did ya have ta go and do that?" came the guard's voice, full of regret. "Now I gotta treat you like some criminal. I hate having ta do this ta kids…" 

With her head whirling, Lina became aware of being lifted up by the back of her tunic near the waist. She was unable to hold back a moan of pain as the movement jarred the multiple bruises she'd received from her rough landing. Then a vicious lance of agony shot up her leg as her left foot brushed the floor, causing a yelp of pain to pass through her lips before she could stifle it. A callused hand lifted her chin up, but she could not focus her eyes to look back at the guard, who muttered, "Banged yourself up good and proper, didn't ya?" He sighed. "I guess ya won't be giving me any more trouble for a while." 

She heard a jingle of keys, and the sound of a door being opened. Then the young sorceress felt herself being swung through the air and set down fairly gently on the cold stone floor, her bruised face grateful for its coolness, though her injured ankle twinged at the contact. "Lina? Are you okay?" she heard Gourry ask. 

She could not focus enough yet to answer. "What did you do to her?" her companion shouted at the guard. 

"She'll be all right." The man's voice said gruffly. "She's just a little waterlogged. The bruises she got when she--uh--slipped in the hallway." 

As her head began to clear, Lina wondered why the man had covered for her escape attempt. _And why hasn't Gourry attacked him yet? _Slowly raising her throbbing head, she made out the dim figure that was Gourry, apparently lying on his side on the floor. The only light came from the flickering torches in the hall, so it was difficult to see much, but it looked as if her friend had been tied up with quite a lot of rope. 

__

I won't let him do that to me. Her fighting spirit was already beginning to assert itself. She tensed as she heard the guard's footstep, but to her mild surprise they retreated back toward the door. She looked up at him as the man said quietly, "I mighta been willing ta help you. See, I gotta respect anybody who don't talk under torture. If they're guilty, they're trying to protect their friends and their cause. If they're innocent, they're strong enough to stick to their story and not make up false confessions ta save themselves."

The door closed, cutting off most of the light from the hall torches except what little made it through the tiny barred window. Neither of them moved until they could no longer hear the guard's footsteps anymore. Lina waited until her head cleared, then pushed herself up on her hands and knees, careful to hold her hurt ankle off of the floor. 

Gourry asked again if she was all right. She snarled at him, "No, I am _not _all right! I'm bruised, wet, cold and we just missed the opportunity to escape! Not to mention that I'm hungry again!"

She stopped in the middle of her rant as she thought she saw her companion smile. He answered in that typical straightforward way of his, "In other words, you're okay."

His good-humored reply somehow eased her anger. She smiled a little herself. "Yeah, I guess so." 

Carefully holding her foot off the ground, she crawled over to Gourry in the near-darkness to try to untie him. She noticed--mostly by touch in the dim light--that his armor was gone, then remembered that Ponmar's men had removed it during their long enforced slumber. While she worked on the ropes, she explained the situation to him. "--and that's all I know," she finished as she pulled the last of the rope free. 

Gourry sat up and rubbed at the sore places on his arms and body. "Boy, we're in trouble, huh? They all think you're the bad guy, but for once it's not true…" 

Lina punched him and then sucked in her breath as she banged her hurt ankle on the floor. Gourry was quick to hear her hiss of pain. "Lina, what's wrong?" The swordsman's voice held a note of concern, though she couldn't quite make out his face. "What did they do to you?"

"I twisted my ankle earlier. I'm not sure if it's broken or just sprained, but I think it's swollen and it throbs like crazy. It's the only part of me that's not cold." 

"Let me see." With surprising gentleness, the big man slowly drew off her boot. Lina felt her ankle, which was definitely somewhat puffy and inflamed. She was surprised at the delicacy of her friend's touch as he ran his fingertips over her tender skin. "I'd say it's a sprain at least, Lina. Do you want to try to put any weight on it?"

"In a little while. Let's see if it gets any better first." From the back of her mind came the thought: _It's a good thing Martina wasn't here to see me fall on my face. _Lina scowled, remembering the annoying princess of Xoana with the mint-green hair, full bosom and arrogant attitude._ She'd drive me crazy with that infuriating laugh of hers. _

"Too bad we don't have any ice."

__

That gives me an idea. Lina unfastened her sopping wet cloak and laid part of it over her foot and ankle. Its coolness was an immediate relief. She took off her other sodden boot and shook it out, then laid it down near the other one on the floor. 

"So what do we do now, Lina?"

Her irritation came to the foreground again, now that she could concentrate past the pain. "Wait for a chance to escape, of course! But for now, we should try to get some rest."

There was a long pause. "But I'm not tired." 

She let her breath in exasperation. "Well, neither am I, jellyfish brains; we just slept for two days, for crying out loud! But there isn't anything else to do, so would you at least be quiet and let me think!"

He subsided, much to her relief. The young girl made herself as comfortable as possible considering the circumstances, leaning against the cold stone wall, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them to conserve body heat. She occupied her mind with ideas for escape plans, considering and discarding several. _Should we try the old trick where one of us pretends to be sick to bring a guard in here so we can attack him?…Nah. They aren't even guarding us. We could yell all day and they'd never hear us. Hmm. How about…_

But as time wore on, the diminutive sorceress could no longer ignore her discomfort. It was bad enough to be stuck wearing wet clothes, but the cool temperature in the stone chamber itself was adding to her misery. Her earlier activity in the hallway had helped to warm her, but now her injured ankle was preventing her from moving around enough to ward off the deep inner chill that had taken hold of her. What had been an occasional shudder had turned into almost constant shivering, and she could not clench her jaws tightly enough to keep her teeth from chattering. She wondered if her lips were blue. 

"Um, Lina?" Gourry's voice was tentative. "I know you asked me to be quiet, but…you don't sound so good. Want to borrow my shirt?" 

She blinked in the dimness, somehow thrown off guard by his consideration. "But--won't you b-be cold?"

"Not as cold as you are," he answered easily. "It's not really that bad in here, and at least _my _clothes and hair are dry."

"Well--th-thanks, Gourry." she stammered, partly from the cold and partly from surprise. Even though it was a perfectly logical thing to offer her, somehow she was flustered. She had never worn anyone else's clothing before. It seemed like a very…intimate…thing to do. 

She heard the soft sound of fabric on skin and looked in his direction just in time to get a faceful of warm, male-scented fabric as Gourry, obviously misjudging the distance between them, held his shirt out to her. Quickly she reached up and took hold of it. "Thanks," she repeated. 

__

Should I take off my wet stuff--at least my tunic? The petite sorceress did _not_ relish the idea of undressing in front of Gourry, even if he couldn't see her in the near-darkness. Old instincts surfaced. _Suppose he tries to grab me? _Then she shrugged. She knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't try to touch her on purpose--and he knew _her _well enough to know what would happen to him if he did! 

__

But will I be warm enough in just his short-sleeved shirt? Well, I can always put my clothes back on if I have to. She reached for the fastenings of her tunic and then hesitated, glancing at the dim form of her companion. She could not make herself start to open them. "Don't look at me!" she ordered sharply. 

If her comrade thought it was a stupid request, he didn't comment on it. "Okay, Lina." 

The young sorceress could dimly make out his movements as he turned to sit cross-legged with his pale back to her. She tried to peel off her wet things as silently as possible, listening for any sounds of movement from him and wondering if he was trying to picture her naked, though he had no way of knowing that the body he had seen in the Oracle's corridor had been her genuine one.

As she pulled her tunic-shirt off over her head, her wet hair slapped her on the back. "Hoo!" She arched her back instinctively to get away from it. Then she pulled Gourry's shirt on, sighing as his welcome warmth enveloped her. "Ahh, that's better." Quickly she pulled her hair from the collar of the dry shirt and held it away from her with a cold, clammy hand. _I can't bear to have it touching me. _Impulsively she undid her headband, and moments later used it to tie off the end of the crude braid she had made. "Much b-better."

At first all she could smell was her companion's scent on the material, but soon her nose became acclimated to it. Her thoughts wandered back to the guard she had tried to attack. 

__

Did I make the wrong choice? Normally Lina Inverse was not one to ever second-guess herself. She prided herself on making fast decisions based on what she knew at the moment, and if it turned out to be a mistake, she dealt with it, without a lot of whining after the fact. _No regrets, right? _

A thought came to her, an idea she had heard all her life but had never really connected to her own actions in quite this way before: _But that doesn't mean I can't learn from my mistakes. We've tried force against these guys, and it didn't work. Maybe negotiation will… All that political double-talk that Amelia's been training in… And anyway, even if I had my magic I'm not sure I'd really want to hurt them. _

Although the hot-tempered redhead enjoyed revenge just as much as the next person--if not moreso--she did have ethics that occasionally handicapped her in situations like these. _These people think they're doing the right thing. They believe they're the good guys, saving their homes and families from evil. I can't just blast them with a Dragon Slave. I need to persuade them that I'm not their enemy. But how? _

"Can I turn around yet, Lina?" 

"Huh? Oh--sure." She had forgotten all about him. 

"Are you warmer now?" 

"A little, but w-what I r-really need is a hot bath. And something hot to d-drink." 

The swordsman didn't reply. After a few second she thought to ask, "How are _you_ doing?" 

He did not answer right away. "I'm kind of cold, but not enough to make my teeth chatter--are you _sure_ you're warm enough? 

It wasn't until he mentioned it that she realized that her teeth had begun to click together again. Though her skin was slowly warming, the diminutive sorceress could feel a constant chill deep inside, sometimes bearable, but sometimes it reached out to draw icy fingers through her body, causing an involuntary shudder. "Argh, what a time to be half-crippled!" she griped. "I can't use magic; I can't even move around enough to keep myself warm. I _hate _feeling so helpless!" 

The blonde swordsman clenched his fists in a futile gesture of frustration. He had been thinking about their situation while he was waiting for Lina to let him turn around, and had gotten more and more worried as her shaking had not stopped. _If she doesn't get warmed up soon, she'll get sick. She could even die. I've got to do something…_

He squared his broad shoulders as he nodded to himself, preparing to risk a danger at least as great as any from his past adventures. Then he reached for her.

Lina's diatribe was cut short as she felt a pair of large hands touch her torso. Sheer shock kept her from reacting as the hands moved to her sides and took a firm grip, causing sudden throbs from her bruises. The petite sorceress let out an undignified squawk as she felt herself lifted into the air, flailing with her limbs and knocking her sore ankle against the floor. "OW! Gourry, what do you think you're doing?" 

Moments later she felt herself being deposited on a surface quite different from the stone floor. It took her a second to figure it out. _I'm sitting in his lap! _

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****

Author's Note: As much as I like focusing on Zel and Ame, there are times to my regret when they have to be absent. Then I consciously try to keep the Z/A readers' interest by having other characters mention them, or think about them, at least. They're my favorites too, so even I find some of the intervening chapters a little dull without them. I miss them when they're gone.

But I can't have romantic scenes with both couples in close proximity to each other…and there's some of that ahead, esp. for Lina and Gourry. Besides, they deserve a few chapters to themselves, don't they? ^__^

BTW, I've read that underground caves tend to stay at a constant temperature of about 55 degrees F., although the cavern Lina and Gourry are in is actually a big mound above ground, so I'd say it's at least 60 degrees F., which is chilly but not usually life-threatening--to people with dry clothes, that is! 

****

For Sylver-Ajah--Naga is supposed to be in one or two tiny scenes--cameos, but I can't remember where. You might want to ask at one of the many Slayers message boards. 

****

For AllisterH--You said: '…I only have one slight issue. Creator of Slayers has said that the assassin's name was Booley and it was Naga that killed him. Apparently, he was using some type of garrote and after killing Amelia's mother, went after Naga. Naga used a magic spell called chaos string to turn the garrote into a razor wire and mentally controlled it to kill Booley'.

Thanks for the info--I think I might have subconsciously remembered the part about a razor-whip being used when I was writing this chapter (last October), but I thought the creator had stated numerous times that Amelia and Naga were NOT sisters. Perhaps he changed his mind--he's got the right to; it's his series, after all, but it does make things difficult to keep track of. So you may all consider this particular chapter as an AU (alternate universe) bit, if that helps.   
  
**For Slayers Otaku-Girl**--I remember how Amelia pretended she was going to use Phil's dagger, but I also remembered it was a bluff, so I'm not worried about that bit conflicting with my story. Thanks for letting me know, though. The exact meaning of a shrine maiden--? As far as I know, shrine maidens are those who use white magic and/or what's left/remembered of the old 'holy magic' that draws its power from Cephied. Using it for anything specific besides healing and exorcisms, I don't know. I also don't know if shrine maidens are prohibited from using any other kind of magic--Amelia was asked once by Gourry if she was a shrine maiden, and she uses Shamanistic magic and even a few black magic spells. Of course, she didn't answer Gourry, but I would guess she was trained as a shrine maiden, judging from what she said in Try--that shrine maidens are 'mere shells of what they used to be'. Her voice was more bitter than I've ever heard it, so I'm guessing she took the depletion of magic personally. That's why I decided to have white/holy magic increase when the Barrier came down--because it had been erected by Mazoku to block Cephied's magic, so… 

  
**For: Alice**--You said: 'I am so jealous of your ability to write a story. I know that when I sit down to write something is like doing manual labour. I hate it. And then I come on here and your story seems to have been written so effortlessly. *sighs* '

Effortlessly? Wellll…if you call two years' worth of work effortless. I'm glad it looks that way, though--that's what it's supposed to look like if you have a talent and you polish it--like…like…athletes. They can do all kinds of things the average person can't, but they make it look so easy. Experience helps--I've been writing fan fictions since I was 12, though they weren't even CALLED fan fictions until like about five years ago--they didn't have a specific name that I know of. Wow, that makes me feel kind of old--and I'm only 30. Desire helps, too--I love being able to sit down and mentally go into the Slayers world, to try to breathe the fresh air and feel Shiran's fur under my fingers and look into Zelgadis' eyes as Amelia would…   



	37. Chapter 37: Let Me Help, Lina! Amelia'...

**Only Stone on the Outside**

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Let Me Help, Lina!

Amelia's First Lesson

__

I'm sitting in Gourry's lap! Lina's first reaction was to freeze, torn between shock, fury, and sheer astonishment.He had never done anything like this deliberately, never tried to physically impose himself on her in any way--not that she had ever given him any real opportunities, but still… She became aware of his masculine scent, which made his nearness seem all the more threatening. 

The hands left her waist, and moved to her shoulders. "Lean against me," came a quiet voice from behind her, as his hands gently pulled her backward. 

"What are you doing, Gourry?" she demanded, a note of increasing outrage in her tone. She pulled away against the restraining hands, trying to stand up, to get away from him as her instincts were screaming at her to do. Her bruises ached, and her injured ankle began sending daggers of pain up the length of her leg.

He pleaded, "Lina, please, you have to get warm! You're going to get sick. I can't just sit here and watch you suffer like this." Despite herself, her struggling lessened as she caught the note of real concern in his voice. "Lina, please…let me help you."

"I'm fine," she heard herself say; an automatic reassurance, although she was all too aware of its falseness. As she tried again to rise, awkwardly holding her injured leg up, she noticed distractedly that she could barely feel the stone floor beneath her other foot--both of them had gone numb from the cold. "Let me go, Gourry." 

He refused to let go. "No. You're shaking like a leaf. I have to get you warmed up." 

The pain helped her temper flare. "Gourry…" she warned, turning her head to the side to glare up at him, although she could see almost nothing in the dimness. Apparently he interpreted her body language for what was about to happen, as she watched him shake his head at her. "Go ahead, Lina--beat up on me if you have to. As long as it gets your blood flowing again I don't care what it takes."

His words went through her with a jolt. Her companion didn't move, waiting for her response to his ultimatum. As yet another shudder racked her body she suddenly noticed how very warm his large hands were on her shoulders. His legs, too, were warm, stretched out underneath hers so that no part of her own legs touched the cold stone floor. 

She shook her head. _What am I _doing_? I'm sitting in his lap, for crying out loud! What if he--_ Her fists clenched as once again she felt the impulse to attack him, to strike out at this man who had the gall to…to… _To care about me._ Abruptly most of her anger evaporated, leaving her feeling curiously weak. 

As another tremor passed through her body the young sorceress was forced to acknowledge that she was in bad shape. _In this condition I won't be much good in a fight, _she admitted reluctantly to herself. _At the least, it'll be a lot harder to try to escape, let alone find Zel and Amelia and make it back to Seyrune in time. And as much as I hate to admit it, Gourry's right. I just can't shake off this chill--it feels like an ice-spell from the inside out. _

Lina stared hard at his shadowy form, wishing she could see his eyes. _He's willing to let me pound the living daylights of him, for _my_ sake? _She hesitated for a long moment, shivering from more than the cold. _I guess…it all comes down to whether or not I trust him. _

I do. Her instant internal response surprised her, but the more she thought about the man holding her the less antagonistic she felt. She closed her eyes. _I know he's only trying to help. It's just…so hard to let go, to deliberately put myself in such a vulnerable position. _And yet, within her she felt an equally strong urge to do just that, to let someone take care of her, to make her feel warm and safe. 

Her old independence made one more attempt. _ You don't need him. You can get along just fine on your own. You did it for years before you met him. _The emerging part of her replied honestly, _Yes, I could…if I wanted to. _

And then the young girl relaxed, a slow smile appearing on her bruised face as she realized the truth. _I want Gourry to care for me. And I…I want to care for him, too. _And this knowledge, instead of making her feel trapped in a bond of dependence, made her feel secure--happy and content in a way she'd never been even as a child. 

Lina felt Gourry jump as she suddenly let her body go slack, leaning back against his bare chest. He didn't move for a long moment, but she noticed she could feel the tenseness leave his muscles as he cautiously decided she wasn't going to pound him. She smiled to herself and commented slyly, "You took a big chance there, pal."

"I know," came his answer, his chest moving against her back. "But I was taking the chance of losing you if I didn't do anything to help you." _Oh, Gourry. _His hands slid from her shoulders to her upper arms, gently running up and down them to warm them. She couldn't stop her shudder of reaction, feeling again how wretchedly cold she was. Her ankle throbbed. 

Gourry's hands hesitated, then slowly, as if to show her that she could stop him at any time, moved around in front of her. She couldn't help tensing again as one arm came to rest horizontally across her chest, above her modest bosom, while the other wrapped itself around her stomach. It hurt where she had bruises. Her shivering increased as her muscles tensed, and her ankle sent out a strong twinge of pain. 

Lina took a couple of deep breaths, feeling the unaccustomed pressure and warmth of his arms as her chest expanded, and tried to relax, fighting the instinct to throw off his arms and leap clear. As she became aware that her hands had closed themselves into fists again, Gourry spoke. His voice sounded strange, so close to her ear. "It's okay, Lina. I promise…I won't do anything…" he trailed off, making her realize for the first time that he was probably feeling just as awkward about this as she was. 

Somehow that made her feel better. "I know you won't, Gourry," she said softly. "I trust you." After a few moments, she chuckled. "You know what I'd do to you if you did." 

"I know," he replied wryly. "How's your ankle?" 

"It hurts…but mostly only when I try to move it, or if I hit it on something." 

"Are you any warmer yet?"

She frowned. "Not yet. Damn, I'm chilled to the bone. I didn't realize it--I thought I'd be warm enough with your shirt, but I'm still freezing. Aren't you cold?" 

He hesitated. "…Maybe a little. But I don't have wet hair, and I can move around to get warm if I have to."

Impulsively Lina placed her hands on his arm, the one over her stomach. He twitched, and made a sound of surprise. She realized her icy hands had startled him. "Sorry." She tried not to laugh, and kept her hands where they were, soaking up the warmth of his skin. "You don't feel cold to me."

The petite sorceress snuggled back closer to him, trying to get comfortable without moving her injured ankle too much. She pulled aside the long, thick red braid from where it was lodged between them, letting it dangle over her shoulder where it would be out of the way. The short hair on her head was mercifully almost dry by now. 

The young girl tried to shift her bottom slightly forward, a little worried about just where she was sitting but trying not to think about it for now. She tried to cover up her nervousness. "You know, you're going to end up as wet as me--at least in front. And I'm _not _taking off the rest of my clothes."

It felt strange to be able to feel it when Gourry laughed. "I'll survive." 

Then Lina felt a length of soft--dry--hair brush against her cheek and over her shoulder just before Gourry's cheek pressed against the side of her head. Again she shivered, but this time she suspected it was only partially because of the cold. 

"How's this?" Gourry asked. "I figure if wet hair can give you the chills, dry hair might help keep you warm." She could feel his muscles vibrate in his chest as he spoke, and the movements of his face and throat. It was a strange experience…not unpleasant…just weird, and somehow comforting. 

His large body was finally helping to ward off the chill. A slow lassitude began to spread throughout the girl's sore muscles as her exhausted body demanded that which is the most essential of restoratives: sleep. As she relaxed, she breathed in his particular scent, no longer perceiving it as threatening; instead it was associated with security and contentment.

"Braiding your hair was a good idea." His voice made her jump--she'd almost nodded off. 

"Keeps it off me," she murmured.

After a few moments Gourry said softly, "Sleep well, Lina."

Only the faintest of snores answered him. He smiled, and daringly brushed a gentle kiss upon her cheek. In spite of his earlier claim, he too was growing tired. Gradually, so as not to wake her, the devoted guardian of the most powerful sorceress in the world--if not all four worlds--leaned both of them back until his shoulder blades touched the cold stone surface. He shook his head to let his long blonde hair slide back behind his shoulders to provide a bit of insulation, sensing that the young girl in his arms was getting all the warmth she needed from his large frame. 

Sighing contentedly, Gourry bowed his head down next to hers and slept. 

Some time later he was awakened by Lina, twisting around restlessly in his arms and murmuring something. He bent down a bit lower and pressed his cheek against hers, tensing as he realized, "She's got a fever."

***

Even though she had accepted the necessity of learning to seriously attack someone with a metal blade, the young princess still looked upon the chore with distaste. "I know it's silly, but I've never…made someone bleed before." The girl blurted out lamely. "It's not at all the same as fighting with magic…"

As her voice trailed away in embarrassment, the stone man stood for a moment, gazing at the small girl in front of him. She was looking at the ground, with several dark strands of her hair moving gently in the light breeze. He looked at the sword she held, and noticed her hand. _Such a small hand. It's hard to believe a hand so delicate-looking is capable of such power in battle. It's her fighting spirit, of course, that gives her such strength. But how do you make someone want to fight? _

Zelgadis had an idea. He turned to look at the dragonwolf, who was lying on her stomach off to the side and calmly watching them. "And what of Shiran? She fights when she has to. She draws blood to protect, to defend. And yet…she isn't evil, is she?"

The dragonwolf chose that time to yawn languidly. Amelia gave the lavender beast a long look, seeing sharp white fangs in a long slim muzzle, teeth whose very purpose was to tear apart flesh. Then Shiran blinked her bright green eyes at her bonded one, and cocked her head to the side as if to ask: _What is it?_

Amelia could not look into that gaze and see just a creature of evil. Shiran was what she was, with no apology, no shame. _If she were human she'd probably tell me to grow up and stop trying to squirm out of my duty. It's time to face my fear and master it. _One side of her mouth went up in a wry smile. _At least with Mister Zelgadis as my teacher I won't have to worry about hurting him. Unless--_

Zelgadis watched as the indecision on Amelia's face smoothed away, to be replaced with that uncharacteristically serious expression that he was noticing more and more often lately. She asked, "Are there--I mean, do you have any--any vulnerable places that I might accidentally hit and hurt you?" 

Reflexive caution made him glace around quickly to see if there was anyone within hearing range. "Only my mouth and eyes, Amelia. And so far my eyelids and lips have always provided enough protection, so don't worry about it. I doubt I'll be doing any bleeding." 

"Good." Amelia brought her sword up in a passable attack stance, and nodded as if to say 'I'm ready'. 

Zelgadis gazed at her grim features. _She looks as if she's going into the torture chamber. _He remembered his own earliest lessons, using a wooden bokken-sword, practicing with his younger cousin in mock-battles, enjoying rare moments of camaraderie with some of the older trainers. _She'll never reach her full potential if she can't relax. The one who tenses in battle is often the first to fall…hmm. If Lina were here, what would she say? _

"Amelia." He deliberately let his posture become languid. "Relax. It's not a life or death situation just yet. Come on. It's time we had a little fun with this." He was intentionally emulating their red-haired comrade, although he was long out of practice at this sort of thing. It felt strange to be deliberately trying to let go of his dignity, after working to build it for so many years. _There's no one here to see me, _he told himself. _I can afford to play the juvenile if that's what it takes to get Amelia into the spirit of this. _

The look of surprise on her face was amusing. Deliberately giving her a cocky grin, the stone man taunted, "Come on, Amelia, what happened your spirit? Too much time in the palace getting bogged down by responsibilities? Have you forgotten what it's like to live a little?" 

As he'd hoped, the young girl's face lost its grave expression and instead took on a more normal look of insulted pride. Her eyes flashed. "Who are you to talk?" she scoffed, but the chimera could hear the edge of laughter in her tone. "I don't think I've ever seen _you_ having 'fun'! I don't think you'd know fun if you stepped in it!" 

"Why don't you show me, then?" Encouraged by the return of the spirited girl he remembered, his grin deepened and he slid into an exaggerated pose that said 'come and get me'.

"Okay, you asked for it!" 

The old Amelia was back, leaping and whirling and bellowing fierce battle cries, her manner full of the fighting spirit he knew of old. He thought to himself, _As long as it's a game, she's able to play. The moment of truth will come when we find out if she's able to use what she learns here in real battle. _

Zelgadis was surprised to realize that he was enjoying himself. _It reminds me of happier times, times when my future was unknown. I was still a carefree young man then. _One of Amelia's strikes managed to barely tap his side. He did not give her time to realize what she'd done, as he scoffed, "What kind of strike was that? I didn't even feel it! You've got to try harder if you want me to admit you might have some talent, girl!" 

Her cheeks were flushed an attractive pink from exertion. "Why, you--! Just you wait, Mister High-and-Mighty Swordsman! Take that!"

After a while Zelgadis found his thoughts wandering. For the second (or was it the third?) time in three days Amelia had been in his arms in the age-old custom of woman weeping, man comforting. _What is happening between us? _Zelgadis' thoughts wandered as he mechanically sparred with the enthusiastic young princess, who was doing her best to slice him to pieces. _I wish Lina and Gourry were here. _Their friends' presence was the best check-rein he could think of to keep things from becoming too serious between himself and Amelia. _She would never act so openly in front of them. _

The stone man could not decide how to behave around the young girl. _My instincts tell me to back off, to avoid her, to keep her at arm's length for the time to come when we go our separate ways. It will only make things harder on both of us…not that I'm in love with her, of course, but I do care about her. She's been a true friend to me all these years…_

And yet, I'm all she has at the moment. Another man might be able to ignore her suffering, but I have also suffered because of my family. I understand her all too well. He did not notice that he was thinking of himself as a human again. 

Amelia's sword almost touched him. His instinctive dodge, aided by super-human reflexes, was just enough to save him. 

Amelia's eyes sparkled as she laughed at him. "I almost got you that time!" 

The sudden short chuckle that emerged from his own mouth surprised him more than it did her. 

Then, with a smile he answered, "Yes, well…you won't be so lucky the next time." Pushing the confusing thoughts to the back of his mind, he focused on sparring. There was something exhilarating about throwing oneself into physical activity, with no time for thought, only actions and reactions; where a fraction of a second could make all the difference in the world. For the most part he managed to remember to take it easy, as Amelia could not match his enhanced abilities, and she did put up a good fight. 

As time passed, the 'battle' became less awkward as Amelia's technique improved. Her first clumsy, haphazard charges and dodges gave way to smoother movements until he was forced to admit she did have a certain grace at times. She really did have a well-developed body, with strong, controlled muscles under her feminine curves. The mock-battle became more of a dance than a game, with the object being to throw off the other person's rhythm and gain the advantage.

When at last he saw her beginning to falter, he called a halt to their training and was astonished to see by the sun that almost two hours had passed. The young girl threw herself down on the rusty pine-needle carpet, panting. "I haven't--done anything like that--since I was a little girl."

It was on the tip of the stone man's tongue to comment 'But you are still just a girl', but for once he managed to stifle it. As he looked down at her he thought that sometimes it was difficult to remember just how young she was. The princess was lying on her back, with her raven hair spread out above her head in a shining corona, her impressive bosom rising and falling rhythmically as she took in great gulps of air. Her skin was shining with sweat.

Before he could get too distracted, he turned away and cleared his throat. "Amelia, why don't you go clean off a little? I can hear a stream running not too far off in that direction." He pointed off to the right. "I'll call Sunshine for you."

"Oh--I suppose I should. I'm all sweaty." She climbed to her feet. "Okay, I'll be just a minute."

As always, Amelia's mare responded to her name. The palomino's golden coat gleamed in the afternoon sunshine, her silky creamy-white mane and tail rippling in the breeze as she came cantering out of the woods toward the chimera. As she stopped beside him, she bobbed her head at him, whickering. 

Zelgadis couldn't help responding to such an obvious greeting. "Hello to you, my friend." He smiled. _Such horses are rare. It's too bad Amelia has to return you to the village where she acquired Shiran, but maybe in the future Amelia or her father will decide to purchase some good riding horses there. If I had had a horse like you back when I was competing, we'd have been unbeatable. I always did get along better with animals. _

By the time Amelia returned, he had decided on their next move. "We'll travel until dark, then have another lesson. Our campfire should provide enough light--and you need to become accustomed to fighting in dim lighting, anyway."

She nodded. "Sure." _Maybe by then some of these will feel better, _she thought ruefully, looking at the multiple hot red spots on her palms and fingers, some of which would surely become blisters soon. _It's a good thing I don't have hands as soft as most of the people I know, or I'd already be crippled with blisters. Oh, I wish my magic worked in here! _

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****

Author's Note: So, is Lina in character here? I guess it all depends on whether you think she's matured enough to accept Gourry's help--and his love. 


	38. Chapter 38: Fever! An Unexpected Propo...

**Only Stone on the Outside**

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Fever!

An Unexpected Proposal

Gourry's first reaction was to frown uncharacteristically. _Oh, great._ _I told her she was gonna get sick. And her magic's not working. _He couldn't see in the near-darkness whether or not her face was flushed, but judging by the hot, moist feel of her cheek against his own, it probably was. The swordsman used his ears instead, listening to Lina's breathing, and thought he detected some hoarseness.

__

What do you do for sick people? Take their temperature, I guess. But I don't have one of those thingys you use to check it. Hmm. Maybe one of the guards does. The one who brought Lina back here seemed like an okay guy. He might help. 

Carefully the swordsman laid the sleeping girl down on the cold stone floor, then stood up, shaking his legs to get the kinks out. He walked in the dimness to the door, then pounded his fist on it to get the attention of any guards who were around. The loud thump as his fist hit made him wince, not from pain but because he abruptly realized that he should try to let Lina sleep, to regain her strength. 

He tried to yell quietly through the tiny barred window. "Hey…is there anybody out there? My friend's sick and I need one of those therm--thermom--ther-mom-o-meters that moms use, to take her temperature."

Nothing happened. After a minute or so he repeated his request a little louder, and then again, finally, at the top of his lungs. _Nothing. _

In the kitchen area several of the men heard Gourry's bellow and laughed. "Like we'd fall for the oldest trick in the book!" one of them guffawed.

The blonde swordsman continued to shout for several minutes, alternately asking for help and cursing the guards' indifference until he finally gave up, at least for the moment. With his broad shoulders sagging he turned back to his small companion, biting his lip as he thought, _What should I do? _

Gourry tried to remember what you should do for a person with a fever, but since he had seldom been ill, even as a child, he couldn't remember much. He managed to dredge up a memory from somewhere, one of his mother making him stay in bed and drink warm broth and nasty-tasting herbal brews. _I don't have anything for you to eat, but if bedrest will help, I can make you comfortable, anyway. You must be really tired, if you slept through all that yelling. When those guards come to take you back to see their leader they'll see you're sick and maybe they'll get you some medicine. _

"After all, they can't ask you questions if you're unconscious--or dead," he added aloud.

As he sat down and lifted the limp sorceress into his arms again, Gourry was suddenly struck by the memory of his Oracle-dream. A jolt of fear ran down his spine, far more chilling than the cold stone wall he was leaning against. _Lina…she…she died right in my arms. _He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms protectively around her body._ I couldn't save her then, but I'm gonna do my damndest to keep her alive now! If I have to, I'll kill the guards and make a break for it _without_ our weapons. It's not like I have the Sword of Light anymore, and I've gotta get her some help! _The big man had never felt so useless, so helpless to protect his chosen one. _I just hope she doesn't get any worse._

Gourry settled her onto his lap with his legs under hers and sat silently in the near-darkness for several minutes, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly his stomach growled, clearly audible in the quiet room. _I wonder when they're gonna feed us? _

He was still for several moments before something occurred to him. _You don't suppose that meal we ate earlier was all they're going to feed us today? _he thought in horror._ That was _hours_ ago--I think. _He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. _Hmm. I wonder how long we slept? It's hard to tell when you're underground. _He shook his head. _Anyway, even though I can take it, they shouldn't expect Lina to go for too long without eating…how will she ever grow if she doesn't eat properly? _

Gourry Gabriev could hardly remember a time when he had not traveled with the fiery young sorceress. Most of his life from before he'd met her seemed pale and dreamlike, as if his true life began at the moment he'd seen the small red-haired waif facing down a bloodthirsty gang of bandits all by herself. His life had never been dull since. 

She'll never be what you'd call a real lady. She's stubborn, brash, and mercenary. She can be really ruthless when she's after something she wants, and really vicious to her enemies…but she's also good-hearted, and one of the bravest people I've ever met. I can't remember how many super-powerful villains she's defeated, but I know we've saved the world more than once. How many real ladies can say that? 

On his lap, Lina stirred, and a small sound somewhere between a moan and a whimper was heard. Gourry held still, trying not to do anything to wake her, wondering, _Is she in pain? _The blonde swordsman listened to his companion's somewhat labored breathing. _I know when you have a cold all your muscles ache. Sometimes you have a sore throat, too. Should I try to massage her skin? It always feels good when we stay at fancy inns with hot springs and those ladies who rub nice-smelling oils on my skin. _

The young man began to rub his friend's body where his hands were holding her, trying to remember how the people at hot springs did it. Without thinking he moved his hands in a circular motion over her upper chest and belly, until his top hand slid down and he suddenly realized that he was holding her small, soft breast in his hand. He froze, his eyes as wide as dinner plates, then ever so slowly moved his hands back to their former positions. 

She did not stir. "Whew," he said, relieved. 

…On the other hand, if Lina wakes up and thinks I'm 'taking advantage of her' it would take a long time before she'd trust me again. "Not to mention the fact that she'd probably kill me," he added matter-of-factly.

Lina murmured something in her sleep. Gourry tried to make her as comfortable as possible, shifting her gently on his lap to lean back squarely on his chest, moving her arms and legs into natural positions, taking extra care with her swollen ankle. He was struck again by how small she really was. _After a while you forget…she has such a big personality that every time I notice her size it surprises me. It always makes me want to protect her. _

He put his arms around her body in the same places that she had allowed him to earlier, above and below her small, soft bosom, and resisted the urge to hug her tightly, to give vent to the feelings that lay just below the surface. Instead he bent his head down to bury his face in the dry, fluffy hair on the top of her head, breathing in the fresh smell of clean hair. _I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you, Lina. I'd be lost. I need you…_

He began to speak in a soft tone, hardly realizing he was talking aloud. "It's funny, that time when we were heading back to Amelia's and you told me not to say anything about romance…it wasn't Amelia and Zelgadis I was thinking about…it was us. All that talk about marriage made me wonder about the two of us, and what kinds of feelings we shared. I didn't know how you felt about me then, but most of the time you don't show feelings like love, anyway. 

"I don't know what you're supposed to feel when you decide to marry someone. I should have asked Amelia. Anyway, all I know is that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, making sure you're safe and happy. Whether or not we're married doesn't really make that much of a difference to me."

"It does to me." Lina's quiet voice had a husky quality to it that could have been from emotion--or was it her cold? 

Gourry held still, trying to judge whether or not he was about to get pounded, in case she had forgotten why she was sitting in his lap, or if she _had_ been awake when he'd tried to massage her. Then her words sank in. "Lina? You mean--?"

In an uncharacteristically thoughtful tone she continued, "For a long time I believed you were just a traveling companion. Then Hellmaster Phibrizzo kidnapped you…and I couldn't believe how big a hole you left in my heart." 

Gourry felt one of her palms cover the hand he had placed over her lower ribs. She squeezed his hand gently. "I still couldn't admit how important you were to me, but after that I guess I just accepted that you and I would always be together. Even then, I didn't realize how much I cared about you…loved you, I guess, until this whole thing with Amelia and Zelgadis and the wedding."

Her fingers moved over his hand, caressing it gently. Impulsively he moved his hand to catch hers in his, and she let him. He smiled in contentment in the near-darkness, reminded of times in the past when she would have fireballed him for even thinking of doing such a thing. That set his mind to wandering. "But would you really want to marry me, Lina?" he murmured aloud.

He heard her gasp, and realized too late how his unthinking comment might be interpreted. 

"Do you mean that?" Her voice definitely sounded choked up, and he felt a flicker of alarm begin. If he didn't answer her right, then magic or no magic he would find himself in agony within moments. 

"Ahh…it's not important what I want. I want whatever you want--whatever will make you happy." 

He could tell by how Lina's narrow shoulders sagged back against his chest that he was probably safe, at least for now. Her voice held a trace of disappointment, but a stronger note of amusement. "That honesty of yours. As infuriating as it can be sometimes, it's also what got us into the Oracle's chamber. I should have known." She sighed. "Fine, then." 

The young girl turned her head to the side, her damp braid rubbing against his bare neck and shoulder. Then he felt her hand touch the side of his face, and slide up through his thick hair to the back of his head. She pulled his head lower, and then he stiffened in surprise as he felt her warm lips press against his own.

His entire body began tingling as he concentrated every fiber of his being on the soft lips touching his, but even as he began instinctively to deepen the kiss, she pulled away. Both of them were breathing heavily. It felt strange to be able to feel her breathing against him, but in a good way. 

After a few moments Lina spoke in a voice that somehow managed to contain hope, exasperation and even a hint of laughter, "Gourry, will you marry me?"

He was still reeling from the unexpected kiss. "Uh, yeah, sure. Of course I will." 

Somehow he could sense her joy; he could almost imagine that her ecstatic grin had brightened the room for a moment, and he knew that his own happiness was nearly equal to hers. How often did a guy get proposed to by a Sorcery Genius? 

Her hands covered his own, pressed firmly against her chest and stomach. "Oh, Gourry." Her voice had grown even huskier. He liked how it sounded--he had never heard her voice sound like that in all the years he had known her, but somehow he knew it wasn't just a cold. 

She added, "I'd kiss you again, but I don't want to you catch whatever it is I've got."

Hopefully, he replied, "Oh, I doubt I would. They didn't throw _me_ in ice water."

"Maybe not, but trust me, it's not fun." Some of her usual cranky attitude returned. "My head hurts, my throat's sore, and I ache in muscles I never knew I had. And I'm really tired."

Regretfully, Gourry gave up on his unpure thoughts for now. "Why don't you go back to sleep, then? They're not gonna let us out until tomorrow, anyway."

"All right." She shifted a little, making the soft moans of someone who is extremely tired and sore and hates having to move. After she finished settling herself, there was a short silence, but then she said quietly, "Gourry?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For doing this. Being a living armchair for hours can't be the most comfortable thing in the 

world."

"It's not so bad." He chuckled a little. "It's a good thing you're small."

She was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "Are you cold? I'm still wearing your shirt."

He had to think for a moment. "Not really. My hair helps, and you're giving off heat now."

He felt her chest expand and contract as she sighed. "Yeah, don't I know it. I must have a fever, because now I'm too hot. I almost wish we had some ice."

"Ice?" That didn't seem like a good idea to him. _I just got her warmed up!_

Time passed. Gourry found himself dozing, not really sleeping but not really awake, either. He found Lina's steady breathing against him soothing. 

Lina tried to sleep, but time after time she found herself wide-eyed, staring at the rectangle of light the corridor-torches made on the stone wall across from the door. _I feel so drained…we can't do anything about escaping tonight and I need to try to sleep off this cold, so why can't I fall asleep? _

The young sorceress had tried relaxation methods like deep breathing, and visualizing peaceful scenery in her mind, but every time she started to doze off the scene became a nightmare. Amelia, dressed in a white wedding gown, glared at her with tearful, accusing eyes. "You promised me that you'd return in time! You promised to bring him home to me for my wedding. You promised. You _promised!" _

I'm doing all I can, Amelia. Lina tried to reply. _I know Zelgadis hasn't told me everything yet. I'll make him tell me what the Oracle said if I have to pry it out of him with my sword! I haven't given up yet--this is just a little setback. _

"It's too late, already, Miss Lina. Too late…"

The diminutive sorceress always woke abruptly at his point. _I know perfectly well that my subconscious is worried that we won't make it, but does it _have_ to keep ruining my sleep? This is ridiculous!_

For the ninth time Lina closed her eyes and focused on a pleasant memory. _I wish I could think about food, but I'm afraid to start my stomach growling. _ Instead the image of the beautiful flowery field that she and Gourry had rested in while they waited for Zelgadis to apologize to Amelia entered her mind. She frowned. _Wait a minute. Right after that is where we got captured. Maybe that's why I keep having bad dreams. _

She sighed, a sigh which turned into a long yawn. _I know, I'll think about the view from the Oracle's domain. _She pictured climbing up the grassy hill, and tried to remember the smells of the flowers, the feel of the breeze, the warmth of the sun on her back. Then the incongruous image of a metal door set into a hill full of pink and white flowers formed behind her eyelids. She smiled a little. 

Gourry to the rescue, she thought in amusement. _ It's a good thing he didn't mind singing in front of us._ _Zel and I were both too embarrassed to experiment out loud. We could've been there for days. _She yawned again.

"Lina?"

"Oh, did I wake you?" 

"Not really." He paused. "Is something wrong?"

No…I'm just having a hard time falling asleep." Hearing his voice made her remember something. "Hey, Gourry…"

"Yeah?"

"…Nothing."

He was silent for a few moments. "What is it? Come on, you can tell me."

"Well…it's just that I…I was wondering if you could sing to me."

"Huh?"

"Sing." She could feel a blush appear over her nose. "You know, like a lullaby or 

something. To help me sleep." 

"Ohhh. I see. Hmm." He didn't speak for a while. "I haven't heard a real lullaby since I was a little kid, but I think I sort of remember my favorite one. My mom used to sing it to me." 

Now Lina was curious. _What kind of lullaby would he have liked when he was little? One about a brave warrior rescuing a damsel in distress? No, that sounds more like something Amelia would like. _"I'd like to hear it, Gourry. If you don't mind."

"Okay." The blonde swordsman took a deep breath and began to sing in a soft voice. At first he faltered a bit, humming whenever he could not remember the words, but as it is with most songs, once he remembered the melody it all came back to him.

The young girl listened to her companion's simple, happy tune as he sang of the wonders of nature. He told of the marvelous animals of the world, from the tiniest fish to the largest dragon. His warm baritone spoke of rainbows and trees, of the skies and the seas and the plains that grew food for the people. It was easy for Lina to see where her friend's desire to travel had come from. 

He has a nice voice, she mused, as her eyelids became heavy. _I'll have to remember to tell him that in the morning…_

As Gourry finished his song, he could tell by the feel of her that Lina was deeply asleep. _That's good. _It was not long before he followed her into the land of dreams. 

*

The heavy thud of the wooden door as it closed awaken him. For a moment Gourry was bleary-eyed, but his nose caught the smell of hot food and he realized that someone had opened the door while they slept. He clenched his fists. _I could have jumped him. We could have gotten away! Or at least, I could have asked for something to make Lina better._

Well, at least they brought us food. Should I wake her up? For a moment his instincts battled with his chivalry. _I should have some first. She'll probably eat all of it if I don't. But…she's sick. She probably needs it more than me. _He sighed. _Oh, well. At least they're not planning to starve us into confessing. Hey, I wonder what time it is? Is this supper, or breakfast? _

He turned his attention to his friend. "Hey, Lina, wake up."

She didn't move. 

**************************************************************************

****

Author's Note: Gomen--another cliffhanger! I always run out of space right in the middle of a chapter…or maybe I just write such long chapters that I end up breaking them down into manageable chunks, take your pick. I've noticed a lot of my chapters are gradually growing--in the final edits before I put 'em on FF.net I generally add things, and answer stuff from reviews in my author's notes, so they end up longer than I'd planned originally anyway. I was going for 7 pages (per Microsoft Word) but these days I've been putting up a lot of 9-10 page chapters. 

By the way, an idle question--approximately how long does it take you to read a chapter? Feel free to reread some or all of my fic--what I'm trying to get at is how long it will take to read once it's complete, in case I want to show it to someone and want to prepare them for how long it'll take. I'm not a good base to go by since I'm always reading with an eye to make changes/fix grammar, that sort of thing, which slows me down. I think it takes me about 7-8 minutes to read each chapter, if I don't make changes, but reading with an eye on the clock makes me try to read faster than normal, which skews the results. Oops--now I've made you all self-conscious. 

I once worked it out that it would probably take me about 10 hours to read the full, complete version (once I finish it) of my fic, which is equivalent to a trilogy of books that are around the length of Piers Anthony's earlier Xanth books. (My favorite is Ogre, Ogre.) Not bad for two years' worth of work, ne?


	39. Chapter 39: Nurse Gourry ,, I am Not...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Nurse Gourry //

I am Not a Child

"Lina?" Gourry could not see her in the near-darkness, but as he focused his attention on his friend he noticed that she was breathing slowly and heavily, and that her skin was damp and clammy. His nose told him that she was sweating heavily. Suddenly she shivered in her sleep. "Lina, come on, I need you to wake up," he said, a note of rising concern in his voice.

When she did not respond, he did the only thing he could think of, even if she hit him for it later. "Lina, if you don't wake up I'm gonna eat your share of the food!"

"Over my dead body!" She flailed around in his grasp. 

"Lina, you're okay!" Heedless of any blows, he tightened his embrace on her torso. He felt her stop struggling. 

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"They brought us some food while we were asleep." A surge of guilt overwhelmed him. He felt the urge to kneel down in front of her with his face to the floor, to beg for her forgiveness. The fact that he was currently holding the person he wanted to apologize to on his lap made it a little difficult to go with that particular plan of action, so he said simply, "I…I should have been on guard, Lina. I cost us our chance to escape. I'm really sorry." His voice was full of shame and self-recrimination. 

There was a silence. Gourry was expecting her to hit him, yell at him, or both, and so it came as a shock when she only said, "Well…I'm in no shape to go anywhere at the moment, anyway."

He blinked. "Lina? Are you all right?"

"No, I am not all right." Her tone was cranky. "My head feels like somebody used it to play Brass Rackets, my skin's so sensitive I feel like I'm wearing sandpaper clothes, my ankle throbs, and my chest feels like a dragon's sitting on it."

Hastily Gourry removed his arms from where they were draped across her abdomen. He realized that they were damp where they had been touching her sweat-soaked skin. "And you need a bath," he commented. Then he stiffened, realizing that he had just insulted the Bandit Killer. 

Thankfully, she did not seem to notice, replying, "Yeah, a nice hot one. With herbal soap. And a masseuse." 

Gourry opened his mouth to tell her how he had tried to give her a massage earlier, but he was saved from his own stupidity as Lina shivered. "How come it's so cold in here? I was hot a minute ago. The spots where your arms were are freezing."

"They are? Do you want me to put them back?"

"Yeah…"

She relaxed back against him, murmuring, "Sorry for getting you all sweaty." 

"That's okay." _First she's cold, then she's hot, now she's cold again. I'm really getting worried about her. _He couldn't help but hope he wouldn't catch whatever she had, but he wasn't really worried about it._ I'm glad I don't get sick very often. _

He wondered when they were going to eat--assuming Lina left him any of the wonderful-smelling meat and fresh bread. Eventually his stomach reacted to the aromas, growling impatiently. He waited for Lina to comment, but she said nothing. 

"Um, Lina?"

"…Hmm?"

"They brought us some food," he reminded her, expecting her to make a grab for whatever sort of containers the food had been brought in. To his surprise, she did not respond. "Lina?"

"…What?" He realized that she was half-asleep already. 

"Don't you want anything to eat?"

"…I'm not hungry. You can have it."

Gourry felt the chill of fear run down his spine. _This is serious! Lina's never refused food in all the time I've known her. _

"Come on, Lina, you have to eat; otherwise you won't get better."

"Mmmm…"

The swordsman frowned. _Looks like I'll have to feed her. _He put his hands down on the stone floor on either side of his hips and lifted the two of them sideways toward the smell of the food until he was within reaching distance. Lina reacted with mildly protesting moans, like a sleepy child who is being carried against her will. 

Carefully Gourry touched the food containers, recognizing miso soup, rice, drinking water and what smelled like roasted quail. And sweet pickles for dessert. All his favorites! His mouth watered. _Maybe I should have a little taste… No. I already messed up when I slept through our chance to escape. She needs me to take care of her. I'm her protector. _

His bruised self-ego felt a little better as he decided on the honorable choice. He picked up the bowl of soup and held it to the young girl's lips. "Here, Lina, let me help you eat. All you have to do is swallow some, okay?"

He felt her turn her face away, groaning, "Don' wanna eat right now."

Some of his concern slipped into his voice. "Lina, please, you've got to eat something, to regain your strength! If you don't you might…" He cut off his next words and took a deep breath. "Just try some, Lina. Please? For me?"

The note of fear in his voice must have gotten through her exhaustion, for she let out her breath in a hiss--a pale shadow of her usual angry outbursts--and muttered, "Fine, I'll eat something. Then will you let me sleep?"

"Sure, Lina." Relieved, the swordsman held various small bits of food to her lips, encouraging her to keep chewing whenever he felt her stop for more than a few seconds. Her head fit snugly under his chin, fortunately, so she was able to eat sitting fairly upright.

By the time she had eaten about half of the food--not even one fifth of what she usually ate per meal--she seemed more alert. Unfortunately, that also meant she felt her aches and pains more, and was especially grouchy. "You should have let me alone, Gourry. I feel like crap and now I can't fall back asleep."

"Sorry, Lina. I was worried about you." 

He felt her sigh, a sigh that ended with a little cough that bothered him. "I know, Gourry. And the food did me good--you did the right thing. It's just that I'm so damn miserable!"

"You're sad?"

He could tell she wanted to sock him. She twitched, then growled, "No, jellyfish brains, I mean I hurt all over and I don't like it!"

Oddly, the insult cheered him up. _She's sounding better already._ He began to eat the rest of the food, assuming she was finished with it. "Well, maybe it's those muscles you don't have." 

"What?" She sounded as if she were caught between anger at being insulted and puzzlement. "What are you talking about?"

"Well," he said with his mouth full of rice, "You said you ached in muscles you never had."

"Huh? Oh--I said I ached in muscles I never _knew _I had."

"Oh." He thought about that while he finished the meal. "Which muscles did you not know you had?"

"Gou-rry!"

***

"I've been thinking, Mister Zelgadis…will you be all right if we stay in here too long? In the null magic zone, I mean." Amelia turned to look down at the stone man from her saddle. "Your grandfather used magic to make you into a chimera…" 

As her voice trailed off Zelgadis realized it was the first time since they had been reunited that either of them had spoken of his curse, even indirectly. Her query puzzled him for a moment; then understanding hit him. His hand came up to touch the side of his index finger to his chin in his traditional 'thinking' pose. 

"Hmm." He stopped walking, and noticed the princess' leg shift slightly to signal Sunshine to stop as well. He stared off into the forest, thinking aloud. "Remember last year when we climbed that--ahem, odd-shaped mountain? I spent over an hour in the null zone, and I didn't feel any effects that I can recall. I've been in this zone for almost three days now, with no result." _Unfortunately. _

He continued, "From everything I've read about making chimeras, I understand that you need magic to create one, but no one ever said whether or not it would…fragment…into its separate components if it was placed into a nonmagical environment." The stone man met Amelia's concerned blue gaze. "I think it's safe to say that after a chimera is made, it functions biologically from then on." He did not notice how he had just referred to himself, but Amelia did. 

She clenched her fist by her side. "You're _not_ an 'it', Mister Zelgadis, you're a person! I won't have you thinking of yourself as some kind of _thing_, a creature with no feelings or intelligence. It isn't right. It isn't just!"

He was taken aback by her unexpected vehemence. _I'd forgotten how much she cares about me. _He had been more worried about finding their friends before the warriors Amelia had spared caught up to them.He could also see that she was working herself up to a long lecture on justice, and hastily interrupted, "Well, anyway, Amelia, at least we won't need to worry about me coming apart at the seams, right?"

He had meant it to be a dry sort of humor, but the look of horror and disgust on her face sobered him. "What an awful thought!" Amelia cried. She actually put one of her hands over her mouth 

as if the very idea of her beloved Zelgadis disintegrating right in front of her made her ill. _Oh, poor Zelgadis!_

Zelgadis interpreted her action in a different light. _That's right, Amelia. Chimeras aren't the nicest of creatures. Better to see that now than waste your love on one. _He ignored the pang of regret that thought caused, relieved that at least she did not continue with her lecture. 

As twilight fell, they stopped to set up camp. This time Zelgadis made sure the fire was prepared properly. 

Amelia was not looking forward to her sword-fighting lesson. _I wish I had something I could wrap around my hands to protect them. _She could not quite hold back a hiss of pain as she removed Sunshine's saddle, the hard leather rubbing roughly over her blisters. _Maybe I should tear off some cloth from my cape…_

Zelgadis' sharp ears heard her hiss. "Something wrong, Amelia?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine," she said hastily, turning away to set the saddle down on the ground, gritting her teeth against the pain. 

Zelgadis glanced at her with narrowed eyes, but she did not turn around. Eventually the chimera went to gather firewood, taking Shiran with him to patrol for enemies. 

Amelia continued to remove her horse's tack, placing her fingertips gingerly, trying to avoid contact with any of the painful spots on her hands. She sent Sunshine off to graze. "Now don't go too far, Sunny. You never know when someone might attack us."

Zelgadis smiled at her comment as he stepped into the clearing, carrying a load of wood. "You say that as if you think she might answer."

Amelia turned to look at him, her surprised expression relaxing into a smile. _He looks so nice when he smiles. _

Why is she smiling at me like that? Zelgadis expression was slightly puzzled as he set the wood down near their gear. He cleared his throat. "All right, let's move over to the other side of the fire." He strode over to the clear patch of earth, reaching for his sword. 

Amelia followed him, pulling her sword out of its scabbard. He noticed that she seemed clumsier than she had that afternoon, holding the weapon awkwardly. _Is she sore from our practice this afternoon? _Still, she seemed game enough, so he drew off his shirt and cape and unsheathed his sword, remembering to grin at her in an appropriately cocky way. 

The stone man watched Amelia's hand tighten reflexively around the sword, and noted that her body stiffened slightly, as if she were frightened or in pain. He nodded to himself. _She must be sore. A hot bath would help, but that's beyond our means just now. At least she's not complaining about it. _Unconsciously his gaze softened as he looked down at her, and the smugness faded from his grin as his respect for her went up a notch. 

Abruptly he broke out of his stance, sheathing his sword. "First I want to see you demonstrate the positions I showed you earlier." _It will help her to loosen up._

She blinked at him in surprise, but obediently shifted into the first stance he had shown her that afternoon. He watched her fingers twitch on the hilt, but otherwise he could not find much to fault, so he said nothing. The chimera continued to watch, puzzled, as the young girl went through most of the positions with a strange, tense look on her face. Her body was becoming more rigid, not less, as she continued. 

Zelgadis called a halt as he noticed her biting her lip in obvious pain. "What's wrong, Amelia? Did you pull a muscle earlier today?" _I would have noticed something like that…wouldn't I? _

"No." Amelia gave him a look of guilty surprise. "No, I'm all right."

The stone man's eyes narrowed. _Something's not right here…_ He let his gaze pass over her slowly, looking for the anomaly. Again he noticed the slightly awkward way she was holding the sword, and that her other hand had moved around behind her hip. "What's wrong with your hands?"

"N-nothing." Amelia moved both hands behind her, looking up at him with wide eyes. Too wide. 

He snorted. "You're not a very good liar, Amelia. Let me see them." 

Still she did not move, holding her sword point-downward behind her. Zelgadis suddenly remembered the condition his own hands had been in the year he had started training heavily with his sword. He reached out to take hold of the girl's wrist, gently pulling her free hand from behind her back. He turned it over in his palm, and sucked in his breath at the sight of the red, blistered skin. Some of the blisters had burst, probably during the last couple of minutes, leaking a clear fluid that made her hand glisten in the firelight. 

"Amelia…why didn't you say something?" Still holding her hand in both of his, he looked up to see her watching him with troubled eyes. 

Her voice reflected quiet shame. "I…I didn't want to complain. I'm not a child…I know how important it is for me to learn to protect myself, to not be a burden on you…" 

His mouth open in astonishment; he could not think of anything to say. _ Amelia…you didn't have to do this. To hurt yourself. For me? Why? Just so I wouldn't think badly of you? _

Slowly he reached for her other hand, pushing her sword away with his stone fingertips so that it fell to the ground with a muffled thump. Holding one of her hands in each of his, he tilted them toward the campfire to better see the torn skin. _No blood, thank goodness. We can't afford an infected cut, _he thought, and bowed his head over her injured hands. He heard Amelia make a small sound of puzzlement. 

"I'm sorry, Amelia," he said quietly. 

"But why? It's not your fault." She sounded surprised.

"I'm your sensei. I should have thought of this. I should have remembered. It's my responsibility…"

"I'm _not_ a child!" The hands were suddenly yanked from his grasp. He looked up, startled, to see Amelia standing with her fists clenched, her blue eyes flashing, glaring at him in the kind of feminine fury he had only seen before in Lina Inverse. 

Reflexively he took a step backward. "Amelia?" He had never seen her like this, and the change astonished him.

She gave him a look that would freeze a demon in its tracks, trembling with suppressed fury, looking as if she wanted to pummel him senseless…or maybe knock some sense into him? She repeated in a voice as hard as iron, "I am not a child." 

Even as he was still reeling from her sudden transformation, her gaze slowly softened, and he caught a hint of tears. Her voice trembled slightly. "When are you going to see that?" 

Shiran looked back and forth between the girl and the stone man, sensing the charged atmosphere, but not understanding its cause. As they stared into each other's eyes, Zelgadis felt a sharp pang in his chest, a deep longing that made him want to weep and take her into his arms and push her away all at once. His mind numbly repeated over and over, _I can't. I can't. I can't…_

The silence lasted for nearly a minute before both of them turned away. After a few more seconds Amelia said gruffly, "Look--don't worry about my hands. They're not as soft as you think. I'll be fine."

She was trying hard to keep from crying, wanting even more to show Zelgadis that she could keep control of herself; that she didn't need to be pampered. She regretted breaking down and almost begging him to acknowledge her maturity, realizing that the act itself had belied her request. _Stupid! _she told herself.

She caught a sudden movement from the chimera from the corner of her eye, and watched as Zelgadis lifted his discarded cape from the ground and used his sword to cut a strip of cloth from the edge. He sliced the strip in half and sheathed his sword. "Here." He reached for her hand, gently wrapping one piece around her palm. Then he did the same for her other hand. 

Amelia let him, watching the muscles in his bare chest flex slightly, feeling the smoothness of his blue fingers, their warmth and gentle pressure as she watched him tie the ends of each piece of cloth into small knots on the backs of her hands. "I hope this helps a little." His face was solemn, but his blue-green eyes held concern and remorse.

"Thank you." She tried to let him know she wasn't angry with him anymore with her smile, but he was already looking away from her. She followed his gaze to where it fell upon her sword as it lay on the ground. 

For several seconds neither of them said anything. Amelia knew Zelgadis did not want to ask her to continue with her lesson, but she also knew the reasons for the lessons in the first place had not changed. So the young girl mustered her courage and put on a brave smile. "Well, now that I have these bandages, I'm all ready to continue our lesson, Mister Zel--"

Something soft touched her bare arm. She turned to see Zelgadis holding out the half-gloves he always wore. "Use these."

"Mister Zelgadis?" She turned to face him, her eyes widening. 

"Take them." He avoided her eyes. "They'll be too big, but they may help a little."

"…" Speechless, she accepted the gloves and looked at them. They were made of pale tan leather, fingerless, well-worn, with a few grubby spots from old stains. "But won't you need them?"

"No." Finally he met her gaze, his expression serious. "I use them to reduce friction between my hand and the sword hilt, but for the most part--" His eyes slid away again as his voice trailed off.

Oh. He must use them to hide his hands. She wanted to ask why he didn't wear full gloves, but couldn't make herself. _Mister Gourry wears the same kind of gloves. Maybe sword fighting is easier with half-gloves. Or maybe it's a way of being defiant, showing his hands even as he hides his face around most people. _

Slowly she pulled the gloves on over her sore hands, wincing as the slightly rough, suadelike insides touched the blisters on her fingers as she slipped them through the finger holes. She moved her hand, feeling how the soft leather flexed easily in the right places. The material from the chimera's cape cushioned her palms as well as adding a little padding to help fill the gaps--she could feel looser places where the leather had obviously stretched to fit over the extra stones on his hands, but overall she thought she could wear them without too much difficulty. 

She was touched at his consideration. He had never done anything like this for her before. The gloves were warm from his body heat--she could almost imagine she was indirectly holding hands with him, which made her blush a little. It suddenly occurred to her that he was not treating her like a child; rather than cancel her lesson, he was making it possible for her to continue it. 

She could not stop a brilliant smile from spreading across her face. "Thank you, Mister Zelgadis!" 

He relaxed a little, finding it hard to resist that smile. "Let's get started, then."

***************************************************************************

****

Author's Note: In a review Akai Kiniro mentioned something about printing out my story. That's fine--I have the rough drafts of mine all printed out just in case something happens to my PC's memory and the backup disks, plus I like to read in bed--but I do recommend that you use two-sided paper. Even if you have to sit there and turn pages over--it's not a one-day project, to be sure--especially if, like me, you want to print out Slayers pictures to use as illustrations. 

Otherwise you'll end up with about 500 pages' worth. I keep all my fanfics in binders, and have discovered that the ones that hold the most are the ones with those 'D' rings--they're also marked 'heavy-duty', which is a good idea. I had one whose metal ring part just ripped right out of the binder from the weight of the pages. 

BTW, I also print out the review pages and put them in the binder with the story, so I will remember what people thought of it, even years from now. 


	40. Chapter 40: Fireside Talk

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

Note: Varxin is pronounced var-zin 

****

Chapter Forty: Fireside Talk 

Zelgadis went easy on her, and called a halt to the sword lesson after less than an hour. As he pulled on his tunic and cape, he explained, "You've made excellent progress in picking up the basics. All you need is practice. It will take a while for the moves to become instinctive, but I believe you have the makings of a fine swordswoman." 

Again she gave him a dazzling smile, joking, "Well, if I have to be one, at least I can be a good one."

He almost smiled back, still slightly surprised at how rapidly her moods could shift. _She reminds me a little of Lina, although Lina is never quite as cheerful as Amelia usually is. Lina. _His near-smiled faded as he thought of his missing comrades. He missed Gourry's friendly company. _I even miss Lina's bad temper. _

Amelia stood in front of him with the fire's orange light flickering over the side of her face. "What's wrong, Mister Zelgadis? You've gone all quiet."

How does she know? The notion distracted him from his angst. _I'm not much of a talker, usually. So how can she tell when I'm feeling bad? _"I was just thinking about our friends," he admitted.

As she had done back at the palace before the concert, Amelia pulled him by the hands over to where her ground cloth had been laid out earlier on the opposite side of the fire from their training area. _The concert, _he reminisced._ So much has happened since then; it seems like years ago. _

The stone man noticed the chirping of the night insects filling the air with a soothing chorus, and the snapping and crackling of the fire as he followed Amelia. Shiran, looking ghostly pale in the dim light, materialized from the darkness at Amelia's side. The dark-haired girl sat down, gesturing to him to sit next to her. "We're almost there; I know it." She gave him a serious look, all traces of humor gone. 

Absently he nodded, dropping down to sit on the edge of the ground cloth. "This null magic area can't be much larger. I'm starting to think I know who created this one…"

"You mean the old story about Varxin?" 

His eyes widened. "Yes; how did you know?"

She smiled. "You forget, I've been doing nothing but research all kinds of old stories for a long time now. I came across references to Varxin several times. The poor man. He thought he was helping people, and instead he became the laughingstock of generations of mages."

"Mm." He nodded his head affirmatively. "Part of the problem was that our society wasn't set up to live with out magic. Take medicine, for example…" 

The couple's conversation about magic turned into a discussion that touched upon several topics, both theoretical and non. Zelgadis was vaguely surprised to note that she had a good mind, her reasoning was sound, based on what facts she knew at the time. There were some areas in which he had a greater comprehension than she did, but she had been given one of the best educations available and therefore had a lot to say, especially in areas where being creative was an asset, such as in music. 

Before he knew it, several hours had passed. Amelia had been silent for a while, and he was about to suggest to her that they try to get some sleep when she said, "I've been wondering something. Why haven't we run into any more guards since the first group?" 

I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop, myself. "I've seen the traces of a few camps since we started following Shiran, but nothing that looks recent."

Amelia sat with her knees drawn up under her chin, and her arms wrapped around her legs. "How strange," she mused. "You'd almost think they _want _us to find them." 

"I think they might," he admitted.

She gave him a sharp look. "Huh? Then why did that awful man capture you? Why didn't he just tell us how to get there--wherever 'there' is?"

Slowly the chimera answered, "I suspect our 'friend' may have overstepped his bounds. He probably decided to grab some glory by bringing me in as a captive--apparently I'm a wanted man again."

Amelia remembered the mess she had gotten into years ago when they'd arrived in Seyrune to discover the wanted posters of her new friends, Lina and Gourry, as well as ones of Zelgadis, whom she hadn't yet met. She had turned on them, and managed to destroy one of the castle's towers in the process of deciding who was on the right side. _Thank goodness Mister Zelgadis wasn't with us at the time! _she thought, grateful that the firelight hid the embarrassed blush that spread across her nose.

Zelgadis continued thoughtfully, "It's my guess those ruffians were supposed to watch for our approach, then use their horses to get ahead of us to warn the ones who are holding Lina and Gourry captive. We've got a good head start on them, but we can't be too careful."

Amelia nodded, feeling a twinge of guilt at her insistence that the men be left alive after they'd been incapacitated by Xellos' sleeping draught, but not enough to make her sorry. _Taking a life should only be a last resort. _She was glad she had managed to get through to Zelgadis. _Even if he only did it to spare my feelings; at least it showed he cares about me. _The thought made her feel warm inside. 

She yawned once, then again, with one hand in front of her mouth. "Well, we'll just…have to stay ahead of them, that's all. Shiran will," she paused to yawn again, "warn us if anyone approaches during the night. Come on, let's go to bed." She was too tired to realize how that sounded, with the two of them sitting together on the ground cloth with less than an arm's length between them. 

Amelia did not notice the startled look appear on the Zelgadis' face. She lay back on the ground cloth and curled up on her side, facing away from him and the flickering light of the fire, pulling her cape around her. 

The stone man felt the tension leave his shoulders as the awkward, half-imagined scene--himself, refusing to take her in his arms, as they had slept (accidentally) the previous night--dissolved. _I hope she'll leave me alone tonight. I don't want to have to reject her outright--she'll be crushed, and now isn't a good time to be distracted by emotional problems. I half-expected her to ask me tonight why I'm not human yet, but I think she senses that the answer isn't the one she's been waiting for. _

He stared down at his female comrade, feelings of regret and angst beginning in his throat, but he gave his head a firm shake and forced his thoughts back to the problem at hand. _How much longer until we find the lair of our enemies? _

Though he lay unmoving as a rock, the stone man could not sleep. Several hours passed. Then Amelia began making restless noises in her sleep, and eventually turned over to face him, losing most of her cape on the ground. He stared at her arms to make sure she did not develop gooseflesh, since he could not tell if the night was cool or warm. She seemed to be all right, so he closed his eyes and went back to thinking.

After several minutes, Amelia's voice whispered, "Mister Zelgadis? Are you awake?" 

For a moment he did not answer. Then he wondered if something was wrong--if she was in more pain from her injured hands than she had shown earlier, and he made a sound of affirmation. "Mm."

There was a pause. "So you can't sleep either?"

He could not think how to answer that, so he remained silent. He opened his eyes to see her face, faintly lit up by the embers of the fire. Her eyes were shining as they reflected the orange light. 

Amelia hesitated. "I keep dreaming about Miss Lina and Mister Gourry. I wonder if they're all right, if they're safe, or if they're… Anyway, it's been three days now. I can't believe that even without her powers Miss Lina would let herself remain someone's prisoner for this long. And Mister Gourry doesn't even _have_ any magic to lose, so…" Her voice trailed off with an unhappy sigh, and the stone man noticed her eyes glimmering with unshed tears.

It occurred to Zelgadis that he ought to say something comforting, if only to ease her fears enough so that she could sleep. "Well, we know that they were drugged with a very strong sleeping draught, so it makes sense that they'd have been sleeping for at least the first two days, anyway, like Xellos said. Then on the third day they would have woken up to discover that Lina can't do magic. Presumably, the enemy would have removed all of their weapons, so Gourry's not going to be able to fight as effectively, either."

"So they're helpless…" the young girl whimpered. 

"I wouldn't say _helpless,"_ he added hastily, realizing that his attempt to comfort her was rapidly going downhill. He forced a note of wry humor into his voice, trying to project reassurance. "Can you honestly imagine Lina Inverse helpless, no matter what the circumstances?" 

Her lips twitched as if she were about to smile. Encouraged, he continued, "Whoever they are, the people who captured our friends are certainly more organized than your average bandit gang. They've gone to a lot of trouble, which makes me suspect that they don't simply want to kill our friends…" Thoughtfully he added, "But whatever that hidden agenda is, I'm sure it isn't good." 

"Oh…"

Zelgadis winced internally. _Great. Now I've given her something else to worry about. _"Well, anyway, Amelia; I'm sure they're alive, so don't worry, " he said softly, trying to sound confident. "Now why don't you go back to sleep?" 

She nodded, and closed her eyes. The young girl lay quietly on her side, still facing toward him. He looked at her small hands as they lay half-curled on the ground cloth. His familiar gloves looked strange on her hands, as if his own hands were covering hers. Though she appeared to be asleep, the stone man could hear the sounds of her breathing over the chirping of the night insects, and he knew she was not. 

Eventually she opened her eyes, and met his gaze. "What do you do when you can't sleep?"

He sighed. "I get up and continue traveling, usually."

"Oh. Do you…want to now?"

He shook his head slightly, feeling his wire hair catch slightly in the tough fabric of the ground cloth. "No. You need to get some rest. I can't have you staggering from exhaustion tomorrow." 

Her face did not change, but again Zelgadis caught the shine of tears in her eyes. Dismayed, he watched a glistening line of liquid seep silently down from her eyes to dampen the cloth beneath her. "What's wrong, Amelia?" 

He watched her take a deep, shuddery breath, her face smoothing out to become almost emotionless, but when she answered him, her voice trembled. "I feel like I'm holding you back. Like I'm some helpless, spoiled princess. I'm trying to be as…self-sufficient as possible, but…maybe you should just…"

Now Zelgadis felt guilty. Ha hadn't meant to imply that she was weak, or helpless. "I'm sorry, Amelia. I didn't mean it like that." Impulsively, he moved one of his bare hands to cross the space between them. He touched her wrist above where the makeshift bandage started, then curled his fingers gently around the top of her forearm in the lightest of embraces. "For the record, you aren't acting like a spoiled princess. You're acting like a person who's got every right to be concerned about her missing friends."

She blinked shimmering eyes at him, a confused expression replacing her false composure. 

"And you aren't useless," he added honestly, the look in her eyes somehow encouraging him to elaborate, "I know I never acknowledge it, but…I do depend on you." He froze. _Where did _that_ come from?_

"You do?" The look on her face made him feel both better and worse. She was smiling at him through her tears, her wet eyes shining like jewels. He could not hold back a feeling of gladness, because he had made her happy; yet he felt a dark cloud of doom settle over him. _I can't keep encouraging her. I can't let her think that I…_

"Thank you, Zelgadis." Her words stopped his brain in mid-thought. It took him a moment to realize that she had used the more intimate, personal form of his name, as she had done once before on her balcony. Before he could say anything, she had moved her arm in his grasp, turning it so that her gloved hand clasped his, pressing his own hand back against the ground cloth. 

He lay there, frozen, not sure what he should do, or what she would do next. For a long moment, they stared into each other's eyes, but then she simply closed her eyes and smiled. The chimera stared at her content face, realizing after a while from her breathing that she had slipped into a deep sleep almost immediately. 

His gaze transferred itself to their clasped hands. His hand lay on its back, with her gloved hand clasping his, looking very small within his half-curled fingers. He could feel the pressure of its weight, and thought he could almost imagine feeling the soft texture of her skin, though his memories of 'soft' and 'hard' were vague. He could tell one from the other only by what yielded when he touched it, and what didn't. 

He discovered that her grip was rather firm when he attempted to withdraw his hand; it only caused her to cling more tightly to him, pulling his hand across the ground cloth toward her chest. He resisted, embarrassed, and decided to wait until she was more deeply asleep before trying again. 

However, before he could do so, he himself dropped below the dream threshold.

Hand in hand, the princess and the chimera lay in peaceful repose. 

***

Lina's cold was no worse, but judging by the nasty cough she had developed, she wasn't getting any better either, though her fever had lessened. Gourry spent a lot of time singing to her, or at least humming a soothing tune, once she had admitted that she liked his singing. 

"It makes me feel better, Gourry," she told him, her tone somewhat hoarse. "You have a really nice voice--I never would've guessed it." Her laugh turned into a cough.

"Here, Lina, have some water." It was tricky to hold a ceramic cup of water to the lips of a coughing sorceress who was sitting on your lap with her back to you, but he managed it without spilling any water on her. He smiled in secret pleasure. _In the dark, no less. _

"When is that pompous Ponmar going to send for us?" Lina groused, once her cough had subsided. "How am I gonna convince him that he's got me all wrong if he won't talk to me?"

"Maybe he's afraid to talk to you." It seemed obvious to the blonde swordsman. "He didn't get the confession he wanted out of you the first time, after all."

"Hm. You know, you may be right." She grew quiet for a while, but then gave her head an impatient shake and said, "Well, I can't sit around waiting for him to make up his mind. We've got too much to do, and we've wasted too much time already."

"Hey, they gotta let us out soon." 

"How do you figure that?"

"Well, uh…they didn't put a bathroom in here…" 

Lina felt herself blushing. For the first time in hours she was reminded of the way they were sitting, and realized something else. "Do you have to go, Gourry? Should I get off?" She began to swing her legs off of his to the floor. "It's okay, I don't mind--umph." She gritted her teeth in pain as her sprained ankle was jolted by the contact her bare foot made with the cold stone floor.

"That's okay, Lina." She felt his hands on her shoulders, holding her back. "It's not bad. I didn't have anything to drink," he explained. 

That's because he's saving the water for me. Disliking the feeling of confinement, Lina couldn't help twisting herself out of his hands, but then she did relax against him and replaced her legs back on top of his. _Geez, am I stiff from sitting still for so long! Must be even worse for Gourry. Poor guy…thirst, hunger, constant danger; it's a wonder he's still with me. Yet he bears it all with such fortitude, even if he gripes about it sometimes. _

"Say, Lina, do you suppose we could make a deal with one of the guards? Bribe him, or something?" Gourry suggested. "Not that I couldn't beat any of 'em in a fight, but you…"

"I don't think so, Gourry." 

"Why not?"

"Because…because I tried to jump one of the guards right before we got to the cell. That's how I hurt my ankle--I landed wrong. See, this guard seemed to be sympathetic--he told me he had a daughter my age, and that he understood that sometimes people let other people sway their judgment about what's right and what isn't, but he thought that young people like me deserved a second chance. He said he wasn't sure if I was guilty or not, but…I think he might have helped us."

"Really? Help us escape?"

"No--not escape. He's the kind of man chosen for his loyalty. I think he'd talk to Ponmar for us. But now…" her voice trailed off. _I thought it would take too long. I decided to risk a quick escape, rather than suffer through another interrogation. Was I wrong?_

"Wrong about what, Lina?" Gourry asked, making her realize that she had spoken aloud.

"Did I make the wrong choice, Gourry? Have I alienated our only possible ally?" 


	41. Chapter 41: Bitterness ,, Awakening

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

Note: Lann is pronounced lahn. 

For those of you who have read Susan Cooper's book The Grey King, (from The Dark Is Rising series) where she describes how to pronounce things in Welsh, Lann's name has the slightest bit of a sloshy 'th' sound in front of the 'lann'--Thlann. Press your tongue to the roof of your mouth and blow out the sides. Neat, huh? 

****

Chapter Forty-One: Bitterness // Awakening 

In the dim stone cell, Lina rested her head back under Gourry's chin, suddenly feeling weak despite the food she had recently eaten. "I've always said 'never second-guess yourself'," she murmured aloud, mostly to herself. "There's always going to be things you would have said or done differently if you had known more about a situation. But this is different; this time I let an opportunity slip right past me without even considering it."

"Well, you do tend to make snap judgments," Gourry piped up. "Although usually you're right." 

"Thanks, Gourry." She felt a little better then. 

Her ruby eyes stared into the dimness, her face uncharacteristically solemn. _Maybe I should have made something up. Something that would get them to take us out of here, across the boundary that separates Varxin's realm from where magic works… No, this Ponmar is too careful for that. He's gone to a lot of trouble to set up this whole trap. But now that he's got me, why stick me in a cell and ignore me for hours? It almost seems like he's stalling…but for what? _

Lina's living armchair jumped when the young sorceress suddenly slapped herself on the forehead. "Of course! Why didn't I see this before?"

"Um, Lina, are you all right? You're not getting delirious, are you?" Gourry asked cautiously.

"No! I just realized why we've been kept in here so long." Her enthusiasm growing, the petite sorceress elaborated, "They're using us as bait to lure Zel and Amelia here. Only they're expecting a group of power-hungry mages, instead of one girl and a chimera. So all we have to do is wait until they try to break us out of here, and take advantage of the distraction to escape!"

"That's good. But do think Zel and Amelia will be able to find us? And if they do, won't they lose their magic when they get here?" Like most males, Gourry immediately saw things in term of battle strategies. 

"Oh." Lina slumped back down against him, her surge of energy gone. "I hadn't thought about that."_ What's the matter with me today? Am I _that _feverish? _She tried to muster her optimism. "Well, both of them are experienced fighters. I'm sure they'll come up with some way to free us, or at least cause a distraction." 

"Yeah, you're probably right." 

Oddly, Gourry's faith in her judgment made her uneasy. _My impatience may already have cost me a valuable ally. _Clenching her fists, she made a silent vow to herself to try to look at all angles of a decision before acting. 

I used to spend a little more time thinking my way around problems. Lately we've gotten into a rut, I guess, always doing the same thing, never taking on new challenges. I mean, it's fun to waylay bandits and scoop up their treasure as payment for cleaning them out, but if you don't do something different once in a while, you stagnate. It limits your thinking. 

Not that that's ever been a problem for Gourry. Her face broke out in a wry grin as she realized that he had fallen asleep, his head lolling back against the stone wall. He was snoring slightly. _Oh, Gourry. Well, he did stay up all night to take care of me. The big lug's earned the right to some shut-eye. _

Decision made, the young girl snuggled back against Gourry's warm chest and let herself drift off, still exhausted from her long, feverish night.

*

Only a few hours later she found herself being shaken awake. "What now?" she complained crabbily, blinking at the strong yellow torchlight. Then she realized that the door was open. There were two guards silhouetted against the light. "Well, come on," one of them said, gesturing at them with his pike. "Ponmar wants ta see ya."

Lina gave her head a shake to clear it, and almost keeled over as the action caused her constant fever-headache to flare up. She felt Gourry's arms around her shoulders, holding her upright. "Not before she gets some kind of medicine." 

"Medicine?"

"Yeah, she's been really sick ever since you stuck us in here." Lina felt Gourry's muscles tense as his voice got louder. "What kind of men are you, to dunk a helpless girl in icy water and then stick her in a cold cell without dry clothes, or a blanket or anything?" 

The two men were silent, presumably taken aback by her friend's words, although for some reason her head was whirling and she couldn't quite make out their expressions.

Then one of them spoke up. "She's the enemy. She's done--"

Gourry interrupted, sounding angrier than she could ever remember him being. "It doesn't _matter_ what you think she's done! Does that give you the right to do the same thing?" His voice was low and dangerous, full of disgust. "What kind of men are you? Don't you have any chivalry? Any compassion? Or are you just as evil as you say she is?"

In the silence that followed Lina felt Gourry breathing heavily against her back. _Gourry…that was magnificent. _

The same guard who had spoken before muttered, "It could be a trick."

After another long pause the other guard spoke. Lina recognized the voice of the guard who had tried to befriend her. "Will both of ya give me your word that ya won't try ta escape?" 

"Sure--" Gourry began, but Lina interrupted him. "We promise not to try to escape at least until we've had the chance to talk with Ponmar. You have our word."

"Yeah," Gourry agreed, following her lead as usual.

"Fair enough," the big man said. Lina's vision was clearing, finally, so she was able to make out 'her' guard turning to the other one. "Weth, why don't you go tell Ponmar what's causing the delay?"

"But supposing it's a trick, Lann?" the other guard protested, giving Gourry a glance.

"Maybe so, but it seems ta me like he's got a point. How are we supposed ta call ourselves the good guys? Besides, did ya get a good look at her? If she ain't sick, then she's got one hell of a good act going."

Grumbling, the guard named Weth left. Lann turned to squat down in front of Lina. "Can ya walk?"

"I'll carry her," Gourry interjected. "Just show me the way."

Lina would have protested, but just then she remembered her sprained ankle. _We should have unwrapped my cape from it. Don't want to look too vulnerable. Oh, well. Too late now. _She felt amazingly lackadaisical about everything, and had to force herself to concentrate as she was carried down the stone corridor to the room the soldiers apparently used as a healer's chamber.

Gourry set her down on a blanket-covered makeshift cot made from two crates with boards laid across them. Her finally-dry braid fell over her shoulder, and she winced at the way the scraggly tufts of hair sticking out of it irritated the fever-sensitive skin on her neck. Absently she pulled her headband off of the end and began to comb out her hair using her fingers. 

She watched as Lann opened a small pouch and poured out a small amount of a fine, grayish powder into a mug of water. "Here, swallow this." 

She took the cup and looked at it, raising a slim orange eyebrow. "What is it?" she asked skeptically. 

"We call it prin. It's made from the bark of a willow tree, very good for lowering fevers and easing aches and pains. It doesn't last more than a few hours, and it doesn't really do much to heal whatever's wrong with you, but it'll help you feel better in the meantime." 

She studied the man's face, uncertain as the whether or not he was telling her the truth. _If he really feels that I'm a threat, he might believe that poisoning me is the right thing to do. _

Lann noticed her hesitation, and interpreted it correctly. He took the cup back from her and drank from it, then handed it back to her without a word, a look of understanding in his eyes. 

The young sorceress lifted the cup to her lips and took a sip. The incredible bitterness caught her by surprise. She choked, her lips curling back from her teeth, her throat spasming as it attempted to eject the liquid. She swallowed hard, then got control of herself, taking a quick deep breath and forcing herself to take huge gulps, trying not to taste the tongue-curling stuff. 

For a few seconds she fought with the gag reflex, swallowing repeatedly, trying to keep the stuff down. "Eyuggh, that's awful! I'd forgotten how bad most herbal medicines taste! Eyack!"

"Hey, you sound more like yourself already, Lina." Gourry grinned at her.

"Here, rinse your mouth out with some more water," Lann offered her another mugful. 

She took it, glancing at him suspiciously. "Why are you being so nice to me? Last night--was it last night?--I attacked you."

To her surprise he grimaced, and put one hand behind his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, I know. But you got spirit, little lady. I prob'ly woulda done the same thing in your situation. And I feel kinda bad that I didn't check up on ya later--I never woulda let ya suffer all night long if I'd known you was sick." 

Surprised, she looked up at him. It was the first time she had seen him in good light, and he sure didn't look like a villain. The man was almost as tall as Gourry, but more heavily built, with a ruddy complexion, steady hazel eyes and curly ash-blonde hair that was cut close to his head. 

There were smile lines around his mouth, and in the corners of his eyes. He looked more like a farmer than a soldier. 

The red-haired sorceress sensed a weak spot, remembering that he had told her that she reminded him of his daughter. She hoped that meant he would forgive her for her earlier escape attempt. "Um, Lann…I just want to say that I've had some time to think about what you said last night, and I was…hoping that your offer of help was still open." She deliberately made herself sound hesitant, looking up at him hopefully through her red-gold eyelashes, a little smile on her parched lips. 

Lann gave her a shrewd look, one that told her he knew very well what she was doing, but she caught a kindly glint deep in his hazel eyes. "So are ya really the leader of this horde of mages that's been attacking us, or what?"

Lina took a deep breath, intending to let it out as a huge, annoyed sigh, but ended up having a severe coughing fit instead. Gourry cradled her close, trying not to drop her as she squirmed in his grasp. 

As her breathing eased, Lann grimaced. "That's a nasty cold, all right. If I was home I'd give ya some crystallized honey to suck on. Soothes yer throat."

Lina leaned back in the blonde swordsman's arms, listening to her head throb, tears of exertion in her eyes. She was sweating again and could tell her face had turned bright red.

"You all right?" Gourry asked gently.

She nodded, not willing to risk another attack by speaking.

"How about some hot tea?" Her male companion's tone was soothing. He looked up at Lann. "And a bathroom?"

***

Always an early riser, Amelia woke before Zelgadis. She lay upon the dark blue ground cloth as the early morning sunlight came through the trees surrounding their clearing, causing flickering shadows to move back and forth over her closed eyelids. She could hear sweet birdsongs, singing insects, and, sweetest of all to her, Zelgadis' gentle, even breathing. It was a soothing sound, his soft inward breaths alternating with gentle sighs, making his very nearness seem somehow so precious. She was suddenly overwhelmed by the rush of love she felt for this man, this wonderful, extraordinary, lonely man who lay so closely beside her. 

She did not want to open her eyes and break this moment of peace. _This is what it must feel like to be married. _Her mouth curved in a smile of pure pleasure. _To wake up beside the one you love, knowing that the first thing you see will be his face. _

Lazily she let her body relax, although her mind was becoming more alert, and therefore noticing more details of her surroundings. This morning was warmer than the two previous ones, which was good, since that meant she had slept better and was not as likely to have stiff muscles, as she'd had the last two nights from sleeping on the hard ground. 

Amelia was seized with the urge to stretch, but as she began to move she noticed that her right hand was pressed against something hard. _Hands…didn't I hurt my hands yesterday? Oh, yes, and Mister Zelgadis bandaged them for me, and even lent me his gloves… _Somehow her mind made the connection between wearing the chimera's gloves and holding his hand, and sure enough, as her eyes popped open, she _was _holding one of his hands.

Suddenly she remembered their late night conversation, and that he had said something nice to her about needing her that had made her reach out and take his right hand in hers. Zelgadis was lying on his right side, his face not even an arm's length away. She gazed at him, enamored by his quiescent beauty, his face full of the peace he never seemed to have in wakefulness. She had to resist the urge to kiss him.

Silently the young girl watched the pattern of leaf-shadows play across his face, knowing he would wake soon. _Should I let go of his hand? He could have taken it back last night, but he didn't. He let me hold his hand all night long. _When she thought to notice it, she realized that in her sleep she must have pulled his hand closer, as it was only an inch or so from her chest. Her hand was resting on top of his palm, with his fingers half-curled up around hers. 

She tightened her fingers around his hard hand, then relaxed them and instead began to run her fingertips over his bare blue skin, gently exploring. Zelgadis' skin was slightly cooler than a human's, with an almost polished feel to it; a pleasing silky-smoothness. His fingernails were not translucent, as hers were; they were the same slightly shiny blue stone as the rest of him. She noticed that though his fingers felt as hard as stone, they moved easily when her own fingers pushed against them. 

The glove she was wearing reminded her that her hand was sore, and as she moved it she could feel some of the discomfort return. Parts of her hands were stuck to the insides of the bandages. _I'd better go wash them. _Still, she made no move to get up, musing, _His hand is bigger than mine, but they look so right together. _

Although his breathing did not change, Amelia knew at once when Zelgadis awoke. She gave his hand a squeeze, though her sore fingers protested, and watched his blue-green eyes open. The dark-haired princess beamed at him. "Good morning, Mister Zelgadis."

Zelgadis woke from a deep, dreamless sleep to the sounds and smells that were already becoming familiar. Along with the usual forest noises he could hear Amelia's breathing, and small noises made by Shiran and, further away, Amelia's horse Sunshine. He could smell Amelia's scent nearby, which comforted him on a deep unconscious level. 

The stone man felt something give his hand a squeeze, and opened his eyes to see Amelia lying across from him, smiling at him, her deep blue eyes shining in the morning light. As she greeted him with her usual cheerfulness, his eyes went to their clasped hands, and he remembered their last conversation. He blinked. _Hm. I fell asleep._ He had assumed that his insomnia would last all night, as it often had in the past. _It seems she's not the only one who needed comfort last night, _he mused. 

His gaze unfocused for a moment, remembering, but then suddenly he noticed something. It looked as if Amelia had pulled his hand against her chest, although with his insensitive skin he could not tell for certain, but he blushed anyway. He uncurled his fingers and slid his hand away from hers, looking away as he sat up. 

In a cross-legged position, he set both hands on his ankles, his back and arms straight, and kept his face turned away from her until the blush faded. "Ah, good morning," he answered belatedly. 

Zelgadis expected her to make some kind of comment about where his hand had been and unconsciously tensed as she began to speak, but she only said, "My hands feel a lot better this morning. I think I'll be able to have another lesson later today, after we find a stream and I wash out my bandages--and your gloves, of course. I think I'll buy a pair for myself in the next town we go through." 

He looked up at her in surprise as she stood up and headed over to their gear. _She's not going to make a big deal out of this? Lina would have. _A small, bemused smile appeared on his face as he got up and went to help her fix breakfast.

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Author's Note: GOOD NEWS--Shell Presto has been able to update her site, namely the DSSP (Dreamsinger/Shell Presto) part that has some of the fanpics I've gotten so far--go and see! Her site is called Inspiration Stemming from Sleep Deprivation, in case the address I've typed below doesn't work. Any search engine should find it. 

Gomen nasai, but I lost the names of two of the contributors, so if you tell me your names again (or just email Shell Presto) she can add them in so people can tell you how much they like your work. ^__^

Slayers Otaku-Girl asked why I didn't have an author's note in my last chapter--sometimes I don't have anything to add, or I'm late for work or something. And as for Ponmar--well, that's another story. I don't think I'll be writing a sequel, but Lina and Gourry will honor their promise and return to help Ponmar find the _real_ leader of the rogue mages--as well as learn to get along together as a couple. ^__^


	42. Chapter 42: A Princess' Sacrifice

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Chapter Forty-Two: A Princess' Sacrifice 

Several hours and one short sword fighting lesson later, they had arrived at the place where Shiran's nose said their friends were. From the cover of the forest, Zelgadis did reconnaissance, scouting out the enemies' base and then returning to where he had left Amelia and the two animals. 

"It's a natural cave system that looks as if someone's converted it into a fortress," he reported. "It's only a small mount of stone and earth, about twenty feet high, but there are no less than four entrances. They're all heavily guarded, but at least that means if we manage to get inside there'll be more than one way out. There are also about a dozen men walking the grounds outside. For the most part, their weapons are swords, although each entrance has one archer. It looks as if we're up against quite a large force."

"So what do we do? How will we get the guards away from the entrances?" Amelia had shifted into battle mode, her eyes showing none of her usual warmth. 

"I had thought Shiran might decoy some of them, but I'm not sure we'd care to risk her against the archers. A lavender dragonwolf is not your average forest animal."

"Mm." Amelia bit her lip thoughtfully. "Suppose we start a fire?"

The stone man stood with his index finger and thumb against his chin. "That would get some of them away, but the problem is that the rest of the guards would go on alert. Fire is a well-known diversionary tactic--they'd know we were here."

"Why are there so many?"

"You must remember, they're expecting a lot more people than just the two of us. The leader of the group you--ahem--rescued me from said he'd been told that I was the second-in-command of a group of rogue mages led by Lina Inverse."

"But Miss Lina doesn't have any followers, unless you count Mister Gourry. And he can't do any magic." 

"Any followers that we know of."

Amelia was silent, a look of doubt crossing her face. _How strange, _the chimera mused, _I can read her face so easily, yet still she managed to keep things from me. Such as the fact that this entire journey wasn't set up only to help me find my cure; it was Amelia's solution to her obligation to marry by her seventeenth birthday. Or was this all Lina's idea?_

He shook his head to derail that train of thought. _Right now our first priority is the rescue. Even if Lina did cook up this whole marriage scheme, she _is _my friend and I owe her a life-debt. I'd be on the bottom of the sea if not for her. _

Amelia moaned, "Oh, I wish I had my magic! A good wind spell would be all we'd need." 

Zelgadis theorized, "Maybe they have periodic supplies delivered. There doesn't seem to be a lot of food available around here, certainly not enough to feed that many men. We could hide ourselves in the wagon."

"But they might not have any supplies delivered for a long time. And anyway, they might unpack the wagon outside, wouldn't they? We'd be discovered," Amelia pointed out.

The chimera made a noise of chagrin. "You're right."

They lapsed into silence. Eventually Amelia said, "Remember when you said they seemed to want us to come? Why guard the place so heavily if they wanted it to look easy for us to get in?"

"We upset their plans when we incapacitated the perimeter force, remember? I deduced that they were supposed to let us pass, then use their horses to get ahead of us and warn the home base. If that were the case, I don't doubt that most of these men would be in hiding right now, with only a token guard at each entrance."

"And when we got inside, they'd have us," Amelia finished. 

Zelgadis nodded. 

"So the one thing we do have is the element of surprise." Amelia frowned thoughtfully. "They know they're to watch for you, but…I wonder if any of them would be suspicious about a young girl traveling alone? Yes, that's it!" The girl's eyes gleamed with enthusiasm. "I could let them capture me and become a secret undercover spy!" 

Zelgadis looked at her in alarm. "Amelia…That's not a good idea. What if they took you prisoner as well? With no magic, you'd be practically helpless…" He recalled the brutish group of men who had captured him. They had left him no doubts as to what they would have done to a female prisoner. His fists clenched as he suppressed a quick mental flash of Amelia, tied up and about to be--

"No!" he burst out. "That is _not_ an option." 

His voice was loud enough to startle her. The princess looked up at him with wide dark-blue eyes, meeting his resolute gaze. Melting into an affectionate smile, she took a few steps closer to him and placed a hand on his forearm. "Zelgadis, I think it's our only option," she said gently. "Shiran, they would probably shoot on sight, and they know who you are. But if _I _can gain their confidence, maybe I can talk their leader into letting Miss Lina go, peacefully, without any bloodshed. Or at least disarm any traps they have indoors."

"Amelia, no--" His voice, his face, his eyes all displayed his utter horror at her assertion.

She continued to gaze up into his eyes, smiling at him with her trademark hopeful confidence. "I know you feel that most people are unfriendly, Zelgadis… I know most people don't take the time to try to get to know you before they decide not to like you…your appearance frightens them, I guess… I also know that you think I'm wrong, even silly and immature, to believe that there's some good in everyone, but, well…

One shoulder lifted as she tilted her head to the side, the very image of an enchanting child as she continued, "When you're a young girl, most people want to look out for you. They're nice to you, so it's easy to like them back. Some show you a side of themselves that few adults ever get to see. Most people are really interesting to talk to; everyone has thoughts and feelings about different things, and if you're a good listener, they tell you what's bothering them." Her tone grew enthusiastic. "As a princess I've been taught to respond to the needs of others. Daddy says I have a lot of natural empathy as well--if I could, I'd fix all the problems of the world!"

He could not pull his gaze away from her eyes, those alluring deep blue wells of emotion as they shimmered within her small face like jewels, her entire face radiant with the strength of her passion. 

Amelia's tone held the ringing note of justice. "I've been trained to work out problems between people. If I can talk to their leader; if I can help Miss Lina and Mister Gourry, we wouldn't have to fight, don't you see, Zelgadis? And if not, well, at least you'd have someone on the inside to help them escape."

He couldn't help but be affected when she used his name like that. His most adamant barriers began to melt, as ice does in the sun. Weakly Zelgadis tried to protest, "But you don't know what they'd do to you. Men will…" He couldn't bring himself to say it.

A shadow dropped over her brilliant sapphire eyes, and finally she turned her face away. "Well, that's a chance I'll have to take."

The stone man pulled in a breath, not expecting her to know and accept that such a thing existed. Suddenly her face was not that of a sweet, charming girl, but that of a grave young woman, whose eyes revealed somber depths that he never would have suspected. 

"Amelia…" His voice was barely above a whisper. She turned back to him, easily reading his anguish, and his defeat. 

She gave herself a shake as if to rid herself of the other persona, and patted his arm. "But that's only the worse-case scenario, right? We have to think positively."

In the end, they went with Amelia's plan. While Amelia led Sunshine, Zelgadis brought the princess to the entrance that lay closest to the faint road that had once curved around the base of the low mountain. "You can say you've been traveling along this old road. Give me a signal of some kind if you get in trouble."

"All right."

"If I haven't heard from you in three hours, I'll get close enough somehow to cause a commotion--maybe a rockslide down the cliff face--so be ready to escape if you can. Are you sure you don't want to take Shiran with you?"

She shook her head. "She's too unusual-looking. I need to look as ordinary as possible."

In the back of his mind the chimera wondered how anyone could think Amelia was ordinary. 

At the edge of the forest, Amelia stopped behind a tall bush and fluffed out her hair. "It's a good thing I'm wearing your gloves. They do a good job of hiding my bandages." 

As she turned to look at him, she was caught by the solemn, almost forlorn expression on his face. She could read everything he was feeling in that moment. _He'd switch places with me in an instant, if he could. _"Don't worry, Zelgadis…I'll be fine." Instinctively, she had used the more intimate form of his name again, but this time she barely realized it, already getting used to its taste on her lips. "You've done everything you could to help me." 

To push back the sense of impending doom that threatened to paralyze her with icy tendrils, she gave in to the urge to touch him one last time, reaching up to slide her hand along his jaw and up the side of his face. 

His face showed his surprise, his own hard hand coming up to cover hers on his cheek. "Amelia…" 

"Now you _must_ trust me. I promise you, I will do everything I can to come back safely. Have faith in me!" she whispered, her eyes shimmering with emotion. Then she pulled her hand away and lifted herself into Sunshine's saddle, turning to ride through the last of the trees, the mare's hoofbeats muffled on the russet pine needle carpet. 

The chimera called the dragonwolf to his side and melted back into the brush, taking little heed of the way his clothing caught on the multiple tiny branches. He wanted to be in a position to easily see and respond to Amelia if she should need him. His hand unconsciously touched the spot on his face where she had placed her hand, his stone fingers sliding against the smooth planes, making tiny tapping sounds as his fingers moved over the small stones embedded in his cheek and chin. 

He watched the dark-haired girl signal Sunshine to trot, and heard her familiar voice raise into a cheery traveling song. She was making no attempt to hide herself; rather, she was doing everything she could to show that she had nothing to hide. He almost smiled at the picture they made, and then fervently hoped that the men near the caves were doing the same.

Amelia tried not to show how nervous she was. She sang at the top of her lungs as she got closer to the rocky cliffside, making sure to guide Sunshine over dry sticks that would snap loudly and signal her approach. She rode along the edge of the forest as if she was using the treeless patch of land as a shortcut, then deliberately stopped her mare when she got within sight of the men guarding the caves. Several had noticed her already. 

Amelia immediately broke out into a big smile, and waved vigorously. "Hello!"

Some of the men looked at one another, seeming undecided about how they should respond. Amelia repeated, "Hello there!" and signaled Sunshine to walk toward them, beaming brightly all the while.

Some of the men responded with smiles of their own. Amelia guided the palomino mare to approach the largest of the smiling ones, grinning and waving again. "I didn't know anyone lived here!" she called out. "Don't you know that magic doesn't work here?" 

As she had hoped, many of the men looked at her as if they thought she had said something amusing. "We know," said the man she was approaching as she stopped Sunshine within a dozen feet of him. 

"Oh. Well, why would you want to live without magic? Doesn't it get terribly boring?" She was taking full advantage of a youngster's ability to ask the kinds of question that are not always considered polite, though she was also curious to hear how he would answer. 

"We like it." The man avoided giving her an answer that would tell her any useful information, but at least he did not seem inclined to attack her, or take her prisoner. 

"Oh. Well, my name is Amelia, and I'm traveling to a village south of here. I have some good friends there."She and Zelgadis had worked out a cover story, which involved sticking to the 

truth whenever possible. The village Shiran and Sunshine had come from _was_ south of here, and she _did_ need to travel there to return Sunshine.

"Who else is with you?" asked one of the approaching men. 

"Sunshine." Amelia indicated her horse. 

"…Well, Miss Amelia, we're under orders to bring anyone who comes here to our leader. He…wants to meet our new neighbors." 

Amelia pretended not to notice the smirks some of the men gave him at this lame explanation. She pouted a little, pretending to think. "Will it take long? If I'm late they'll think something's happened to me. My daddy will get worried and send out search parties…ooo, it would be soo embarrassing!"

"Oh, that depends on--well, he'd like to ask you a few things, that's all."

"Oh. Okay, then." As she followed the man into the torch-lit cave, Amelia forced herself not to look back. She didn't want to take the chance that someone might notice Zelgadis hiding in the foliage, his face a grim mask that promised severe retribution if any harm were to come to her. 

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Author's Notes: It looks like I'm going to have to plan on only updating once a week. You see, it takes me at least an hour since I always do some final editing and then work on my author's note, answering your wonderfully responsive comments and questions and then adding personal stuff. I have time off on Thursdays, so look for my updates on **Friday** from now on, okay? If I have time, I may occasionally update twice a week. 

I have some understanding of Amelia's viewpoint on people. I'm a 30-year-old female, but most people guess me for 22 at the most--and many even think I'm a teenager, especially if I wear my hair in certain styles. I have one of those 'baby faces' I guess. Most adults treat me (indulgently)--as if I'm 16 and most of the teenagers I work with (I'm a cashier) think I'm their age until someone tells them otherwise. I love having people guess my age--I get such a kick out of it. Nobody ever comes close. ^__^ 

****

jadz_i_ka asked me about Shell Presto's story One Third Human. Well, SP just started college, so her time is very limited as of now. Among other things, she's taking a course in Japanese language. She also has a wonderful new boyfriend. She has plans for her story, though, so don't be surprised if there's an update sometime.

To **Clover the Sea-Beast**--wow! You stayed up ALL NIGHT to read my fic? Betcha got mad when you reached the end only to discover that it's not finished yet…tee hee. I'm honored that some of you have deemed my fic worthy enough to go without sleep--Clover's not the first, I know--but please do remember that regularly missing too much sleep can do awful things to your body in the long run. 

Besides accidents with cars and other dangerous things, I've read health magazine articles that report a correlation between sleep deprivation and tons of diseases that are on the increase, from Alzheimers to diabetes, both of which are in my family--not me, (yet) thank goodness. Plus in general you're run down and tend to get lots more colds because your immune system is weakened. I notice this with people I know who skip sleep--I don't, and I never get colds. Hey, maybe that's why I look younger, too… 

Take sleep problems seriously. You know how Shell Presto's site is called Inspiration Stemming from Sleep Deprivation? She tended to work all night on her computer and sleep all day, or not sleep at all, and her health has been...well, getting worse. Guess what? She just found out she's anemic, which I never would have guessed. I knew it could make you tired and run-down, but I never knew it actually interrupted sleep patterns! She's on medication and doing better now. 

****

DarkAngel-Ahria asked me how long Only Stone is--well, I'd say we're a little more than two-thirds of the way through. Remember way back when, when I mentioned that my fic tends to run in arcs? I've got about five more fascinating, heartwarming, dramatic arcs to tell to bring this story to a close--but I have to admit I'll be sorry when it's over. I hope some of you will be, too. ^__^ Have fun reading!


	43. Chapter 43: Miss Zelgadis?

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

Note: 

****

Chapter Forty-Three: _Miss_ Zelgadis? 

"Why don't you leave your horse near the entrance?" suggested the guard. "I'm sure she would prefer to be where she can see outdoors."

Amelia was glad to see that not all of their enemies' men seemed to be as brutish as the ones they had run into before. "Why, thank you. That's very thoughtful of you." She smiled sweetly at him, turning on the charm. 

"It's nothing." The man smiled back, putting a hand behind his head as if he was embarrassed at this praise. The princess knew it was also probably that he was feeling guilty about escorting an apparently innocent girl in to be interrogated by his leader. 

Amelia followed the man whom she had approached down a long, torch-lit corridor to an area that was honeycombed with caves of assorted sizes, some of which had been converted to living areas. Multiple futons were rolled up in many of the chambers; several others held stacks of wooden crates--probably various supplies. 

The dark-haired princess was invited to sit down on a small carton to wait while a runner was sent to fetch their leader. One of the men offered her a mug of hot tea, which she accepted. She took a moment to study the handle-less mug she had been given. It was slightly asymmetrical and its green finish had a somewhat blotchy appearance, but it was nonetheless a respectable example of homemade crockery. 

As she took careful, dainty sips, she tried to prepare herself for her upcoming 'interview'. She recalled her recent conversation with Zelgadis. '"Amelia, can you bring yourself to lie to them?"' he had asked. '"You aren't exactly experienced at deceiving people."' 

'"I won't need to lie. As long as no one asks me outright if I'm Princess Amelia of Seyrune, I'll be fine."' she had answered, smiling reassuringly. 

I hope.

Within a short time she was being introduced to 'Ponmar', a tall, dark-haired man with keen blue eyes. She noticed that unlike some of his men, his dark brown beard was neatly trimmed, and he carried himself like a king. She thought it a little odd that he was not introduced by any particular title. 

Ponmar surprised her by formally extending his hand to her. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Amelia."

She set down the cup and rose to her feet, her princess training taking over. "I am glad to meet you as well, Mister Ponmar." Then, remembering her idea to appear somewhat childish, she blurted out, "It sure was a surprise to see your men outside. No one's lived here in ages!"

The dark-haired man smiled pleasantly. "We don't get many visitors. If you don't mind my asking, what are you doing here? You must be aware that this region has no magic."

"Oh, of course, but that's why this is the safest route for traveling. There aren't any trolls or demons or things to hurt me."

Ponmar nodded. "Still, it's quite a long journey for a young girl, alone."

Before he could bring up the subject of traveling companions, Amelia pouted indignantly. "I can protect myself." She patted the sword hilt on her hip, glad now that Zelgadis had insisted that she train with it. _I hope he doesn't ask me for a demonstration._

"And I'm not alone. Sunshine is great company. I'm going south to return her to her village, and then after that I have to go home to be married." She stopped, aware that she had begun to babble. 

"I see." Ponmar gave her a odd look.

"It's an arranged marriage," she added quickly. "There's another man I really want to marry, but--" she stopped herself. _I don't know why I'm telling him all this! He doesn't need to know! _She looked down at her feet, feeling her cheeks grow hot. _Well, at least I'm putting on a good act as a silly, naïve young girl. He doesn't know what to make of me. _

Ponmar gave his head a shake as if to free his brain from the irrelevancies, cleared his throat and asked the question Amelia had been waiting for. "Well, anyway, Miss Amelia, as a newcomer to this region I have heard many interesting rumors. What do you know about a sorceress named Lina Inverse?" His face and voice were completely calm, giving no hint to the importance of his query. 

Amelia nervously took a sip of tea to give herself time to think. _What should I tell him? Mister Zelgadis says I'm a bad liar…but I need Mister Ponmar to trust me. Well, I can't tell him the whole truth, but… _

"Why, it's funny you should mention her." Amelia's face was the picture of innocent delight. "I've met her--and you know the strangest thing? She's not nearly as much of a fiend as the stories make her out to be."

Judging by the look on Ponmar's face, her answer was not at all what he expected. _He probably expected me to say I never heard of her, or else repeat some of the stories people tell about her. _Amelia elaborated blithely, "Oh, she can be rude and pushy and has the _worst_ table manners, but she never hurts innocent people. Well, not on purpose. She's really smart and brave and very loyal to her friends." 

Ponmar probed, "I've heard that she's in command of an army of mages that have set their sights on controlling the outer world."

"Who, Miss Lina?" She pretended to think for a moment. "That doesn't sound like her at all. Her favorite thing to do is travel around with Mister Gourry and eat a lot." With a giggle, she added, "She always has plenty of money from attacking bandit gangs--I think she gets a kick out of robbing the robbers."

Imitating Zelgadis' thinking pose, Amelia rubbed the side of her index finger on her chin. "But I don't think she'd want to get stuck in one place for very long, even to rule it. She'd feel like she was missing out on an adventure somewhere." 

At this, the dark-haired man raised an eyebrow. Amelia couldn't help smiling in satisfaction. _There. That's given him something to think about. _"Mister Ponmar, where did you live before you came here?" she asked without thinking. 

At his sharp look, she gulped. "Well, you asked me!" she protested with girlish logic.

* 

Zelgadis watched as Amelia was taken inside. As she had predicted, no one had tried to attack her, or had even been rough with her, and judging by the smiles on several of the men's faces, many of them had taken a liking to her right from the start. 

He sighed. _Maybe I'm searching for the wrong thing. I should've asked the Oracle how to make me look female. All they have to do is smile, and they get results._ One side of his mouth turned up in a wry smile. 

He watched the cliffside for another few minutes, then turned to go back to camp. A whine from Shiran got his attention. The lavender dragonwolf was staring at the entrance that Amelia had disappeared into, her shaggy ruff lifted slightly, her body tense. Zelgadis closed his eyes for a moment. "I know how you feel," he said quietly. "I'm worried about her too."

The large animal turned her gracefully tapered head toward him, her glowing emerald eyes flickering with worry. He found himself reaching out reassuringly to touch the top of her head as gently as her could, not wanting to bruise her. To his surprise, the dragonwolf tilted her head as if to say, _Scratch me here. _Obligingly he did so, taking care not to rub too hard. Shiran's response was a combination of a growl and a moan, her eyes closed in bliss. 

It made him smile. _You've never been this affectionate before, _he noted, _at least, not to me. Actually, no one's been this affectionate since…_ His smile faded as a feeling of bereftness settled over him as he recalled just how little real love he had actually received in his hard life

With a final scratch on the darker purple fur between Shiran's delicately pointed ears, he patted the side of his leg and said, "Shiran, flank." He couldn't allow Shiran to range free to hunt herself a meal in case the guards spotted her, and it had just occurred to him that Amelia might have left some food in the bags she had left behind. 

The two of them headed back to the tree where some of Amelia's saddlebags had been hung, as Zelgadis had thought it prudent to make it look as if Amelia was only carrying enough supplies for one person. She had chosen which bags to leave behind, one of which he had not had occasion to open as of yet. 

He unhooked the leather bag from the tree limb and opened it. Inside was what appeared to be a large amount of pink cloth with white lace. Curious, he set the bag down and took a handful of the cloth, then stood up to shake it out. It turned out to be one of Amelia's fancy gowns, the kind she wore when she was dressed up for one formal function or another. _Why would she bring this along? In case there's a party? _He sighed, a wry smile on his lips_. Females. _

Idly he let his eyes wander over the dress, noticing that the cut of the dress was a little more conservative than the gowns he remembered her wearing in the past. _ Amelia wanted to look young and innocent--she should have put this on before she left. It practically shouts femininity. _There were two long thin pieces of white cloth at the back of the dress, presumably for tying into a bow. They fluttered in the wind. 

In face, the entire dress was flapping in his hands. He noticed Shiran's fur was also being ruffled by unseen hands, and looked up to the sky, noticing that it had grown somewhat overcast since this morning's sunshine. He spotted a dark storm bank approaching rapidly. _Rain? Hmm. That could be useful. _The stone man stood unmoving, his solemn expression betraying no hint of the rapid consideration-and-reject process taking place behind his deep teal eyes. _Maybe I can use the rain to hide my approach…_

"Trying on Amelia's clothes, Zelgadis? My, my, I wasn't aware that your tastes ran in _those_ directions…"

"Xellos!" The startled chimera spun around to face the mazoku, unconsciously clutching the dress to his chest. Shiran leaped in front of the chimera and snarled fiercely at the apparent man, her long fur lifting into a lavender corona around her neck and shoulders as her eyes lit up with green fire.

"Halt, Shiran!" Zelgadis commanded, though he dearly would have liked to see how the mazoku fared against the formidable creature. But he knew that Xellos, as one who had slain an entire tribe of dragons, could make short work of her if he cared to.

The dragonwolf turned her head to look at him and made a noise of protest but quieted down, though her fur continued to bristle. "What are you doing here, Xellos?" Zelgadis asked curtly. "Don't you have other people you can bother?" 

The mazoku gave no sign that he had noticed the negative feelings directed toward him. "If you don't mind my opinion, pink is _not_ your color." His tone was half apologetic, half sardonic. 

"What? Oh--" The slender chimera looked down at himself. Shining chiffon and delicate white lace adorned him to his knees. Flushing hotly, Zelgadis held the offending garment away from himself. "Why, you--what do you want now?" he sputtered. Shiran's snarling increased in volume. 

"I've come to offer my assistance, of course. Now for starters, I think you'd better cover your skin with some makeup--"

With a growl as loud as the dragonwolf's Zelgadis drew his sword in a lightning-fast motion. In a fraction of a second the apparent man had a length of sharpened metal an inch from his throat. A shaft of light reflected off of the blade, then faded as the last of the sunlight disappeared behind the approaching storm cloud. 

Xellos held up his hands in a conciliatory gesture, though he showed no fear. "Now, now, Zelgadis, there's no need for violence. Besides, you know perfectly well you can't really hurt me with that sword."

"No? How about one charged with Rah Tilt energy?" 

Xellos paused, his lips pursing in a little pout. "Spoilsport." He sighed. "All right. Our good friend Lina is being held prisoner inside that cave complex, is she not? 

"Yes," Zelgadis answered suspiciously. "So are Gourry and Amelia. Just how do you know that? Are you--" 

Again Xellos held up his hands. "I've had nothing to do with this. I merely came to offer my services for her--ahem--their rescue before something--unfortunate--happens."

"Since when do you care about my friends' safety?"

"Oh, I couldn't care less about them personally, but Lina is just so much fun to tease; it would be such a bother to have to look for someone else as…entertaining. And as I said on the ship, eternal life does have its drawbacks. Eternal boredom, for one."

Slowly Zelgadis lowered his sword. "So rescue them yourself." 

At this Xellos looked uncomfortable. He put one hand on the back of his neck. "I'm afraid I'm not allowed to. You see, most of my higher powers are only for use at my master's directive. If she learned that I was entertaining myself between assignments by helping humans, she would be…displeased." The tone of his voice left no doubt as to the serious nature of a Mazoku Lord's displeasure.

"Also, Varxin's Realm has a tendency to nullify most of the minor magic that I _can_ access. Even teleporting myself here was a bit of a strain to do without calling on any of my higher powers." 

__

Hmph. A straight answer for once. Zelgadis was slightly surprised. _Maybe he cares for Lina more than he wants to admit, even to himself. Though I'd guess it's her phenomenal temper that really attracts him, _he thought with a wry quirk of his lips and one raised stone eyebrow. 

"Fine. Then I need a way to cause a distraction," he said abruptly. "This damn null magic zone's blocked most of my options. I assume you can't act openly either, or your master will notice magic where it shouldn't be, so what do you suggest?" The last few words came out in a challenging tone. 

"I think your idea is a splendid one." 

"Huh? What idea?" 

Xellos un-blinked at him in mild surprise, his pale purple irises eerie, as always. "Why, to disguise yourself as a woman to gain access right under their noses, of course. It worked splendidly that time in Femilia, didn't it?" 

A large vein popped up on the chimera's temple. On the verge of an apoplectic eruption, he suddenly stopped his forward motion as the thought hit him: _Damn it, he's right. As much as I loathe the idea, our disguises _did _fool the inhabitants of that blasted town, even the crossdressers, who of all people should've been able to tell the difference._

He ground his teeth together and growled under his breath. "Why don't _you _be the girl? You seemed to like it well enough before!" 

Xellos didn't seem to hear the insult. He smiled innocently and held up a finger. "Well, there's only one dress. Though I flatter myself to say that I look better in pink, _I'm _not the one they're looking for." 

Zelgadis slowly ground his fingertips into the palms of his hands, realizing that the mazoku had backed him into a corner. He made a last weak protest, "Amelia's clothes won't fit me."

"Well, I admit the fit will be a little on the snug side, bit if you let out a few seams and wear some of her stockings to cover up your legs, you ought to be able to pass a cursory inspection."

Head down in sullen acceptance, the stone man looked at the wad of pink and white cloth clenched tightly in his blue fist. _I hope Amelia understands the need for this, _he thought, picturing his friends' reactions when they saw him dressed once again as a woman. His cheeks burned. _If any of them laugh, I swear I'll leave them to the kidnappers! _

The rainstorm began soon after that. Zelgadis was just finishing altering the dress, letting out the seams as far as they would go, and being glad for once that he had such a slender build. Xellos disappeared while Zelgadis was donning the damp, ill-fitting garment, which had lost most of its former glory and now looked like a sad hand-me-down from a rich relative--all sagging hemline and ragged threads sticking out here and there. 

The chimera was making a few last adjustments when Xellos popped up at his elbow, making him jump. "Ah, here you go," he said enthusiastically, holding out a pair of soft melon-fruits. 

Zelgadis eyed the melons with one stone eyebrow raised. "Where did you get those? And what are those for?"

"They're to stuff your bosom, of course."

"…" Zelgadis coughed into his hand. "I had planned on being rather flat-chested, if you don't mind."

"Now, Zelgadis, if you're going to disguise yourself, you may as well do it right. Don't you think even the dullest soldier would notice such a poor costume?"

The stone man sighed, closing his eyes in misery. _"Fine. _Let's just get this over with."

"Excellent! And then I'll help you with your makeup…" 

There was a small makeup kit at the bottom of the pouch that had held her dress. The two rescuers draped Zelgadis' cape across several overhead branches to keep the rain off while Zelgadis applied some of the makeup and made a few final adjustments to other parts of his disguise. Xellos offered numerous 'helpful' comments on his efforts.

"More powder on your chin."

"Your lipstick is smeared."

"Your right breast is higher than your left one."

The stone man badly wanted to tell him where he could stick his comments, but without a mirror he had to rely on the mazoku's suggestions. The only other alternative was to allow Xellos to touch him physically to make corrections, which made even his stone skin crawl. 

It had been hard enough to let Amelia do it the last time. 

His blue-green eyes softened as he recalled her cheerful, matter-of-fact attitude as she helped him adjust various portions of his female anatomy. He had almost been ready to sink into the ground in embarrassment, but somehow her easygoing nature had made it bearable. Her open admiration of him had also helped…

'"You look so elegant, Mister Zelgadis! I wish _I _had such fine features."'

'"Such graceful hands, with such beautiful, slender fingers; I'm so jealous!"'

'"You look good in these shoes, Mister Zelgadis; you have such nice long legs."'

Her praise had both embarrassed him and gratified him. Thinking back, he realized that not one of her comments had mentioned his stone skin or other chimeric qualities. It was almost as if she really had forgotten that wasn't human anymore. Or else she'd been tactful, for once. 

Finally Xellos proclaimed him as 'pretty' as he was likely to get. As Zelgadis growled at the remark, Xellos made his staff and priestly cape disappear into the magic plane from which he usually emerged. They each shouldered one of the remaining packs to give the impression that they were innocent travelers, and set out to brace the enemy. 

******************************************************************************

****

Author's Note: Who remember a show from the 1980's called _Beauty and the Beast? _It was a live-action show about a gentle man who looked part lion (Ron Perlman) named Vincent and the human woman he loved (Linda Hamilton) named Catherine. He lived with a group of people, all misfits from society in one way or another, in a large cave complex way down under New York's subways. Catherine was a defense attorney, and always had bad guys after her, and Vincent would 'sense' that she was in danger and rush to her rescue, often killing the men with his bare claws--hey, that sort of reminds me of my idea with Amelia's ward bracelets, but Vincent had some kind of psychic link with Catherine and always felt her emotions. 

Very, very romantic series, even though, because of Vincent's great strength and claws, he was afraid to touch her romantically. (Once when he was a teen he tried to hold a girl he liked and she wasn't interested and he accidentally clawed her. It traumatized him badly.) Catherine was willing, but understood, and they only made love once in the whole series--which, of course, got her pregnant, but I won't go into it all now. 

I have some of the episodes on tape. Look on ebay if you're interested--the pilot episode is one of my very favorites and you can usually find a VHS tape there, plus some from later episodes. They even have a few fanzines--the early form of fan fiction. I've got a bunch and I'm actually thinking about selling some to make room. 

I think of that show a lot when I imagine how Zelgadis would feel if he tried to be intimate with Amelia and ended up hurting her. I picture how Vincent and Catherine would end most episodes with a long, long embrace, often looking deeply into each other's eyes, and you'd hold your breath 'cause you were just waiting for them to kiss! The anticipation made it even better when they reached a turning point in the series and Catherine turned to climb up the basement steps of her apartment building and then _turned back _and walked up to him and _did_ kiss Vincent, and he just sort of melted--it was _so_ touching!


	44. Chapter 44: Where It All Comes Together

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

Note: Note: Lann is pronounced lahn. 

For those of you who have read Susan Cooper's book The Grey King, (from The Dark is Rising series) where she describes how to pronounce things in Welsh, Lann's name has the slightest bit of a sloshy 'th' sound in front of the lann--Thlann. Press your tongue to the center of the roof of your mouth and blow out the sides. Neat, huh? 

Verisimilitude-=truth /realism /realistic (Sorry I couldn't resist--it's the first time I've ever written anything where this word would work. ^__^)

Pronounced verr-ih-sim-ill-ih-tood 

****

Chapter Forty-Four: Where It All Comes Together 

Zelgadis had put his own tan clothing into his pack to carry. He was oddly conscious of the large, ruggedly masculine boots he wore, but he could do nothing about them. The only alternative would be to go barefoot, which would look too odd for a traveler even if he'd had normal feet. He'd also grudgingly borrowed Xellos' smooth gray gloves to hide his hands, and after a few second's musing he had slipped Amelia's ward bracelet over the glove on his left hand. He did not feel comfortable letting it out of his sight, for some reason. Besides, it added to the costume's verisimilitude. 

He had debated leaving his sword behind, but it went against his instincts to walk in completely unarmed. Xellos had unexpectedly volunteered to carry it, which he wasn't too happy about, but it was better than leaving it with Shiran in the clearing. 

The chimera had improvised a large kerchief for his head by cutting off a piece of Amelia's heavyweight dark blue ground cloth, which had been treated to be almost waterproof on one side. He kept his head down, trying to keep the rain from washing the makeup off of his face and neck. 

Amelia's dress had long sleeves and a round neck that was--thankfully--not as low-cut as some of the gowns he remembered seeing her in. The now-ankle-length pink skirt flowed around him, fluttering in the storm's wind in spite of being dripping wet. He worried for a time that his artificial bosom might try to shift, but fortunately, between Amelia's…undergarment…and the material of the dress itself--which was double-layered over his chest area--the heavy melons were well-supported and showed no signs of independently relocating themselves. 

__

I don't understand how women can stand to have such a burden hanging from their chests. Lina should be thankful she's got less…unlike Amelia-- His face went dark red as he realized he was picturing the young princess's generous anatomy, though he had never actually seen her unclothed… _If you don't count the time she was wearing that swimsuit…_

He shook his head and looked up to see that they were at the edge of the forest. The daylight had been reduced to a gloomy twilight that suited the rescuers' needs admirably. Zelgadis noted that the guards had built several large fires underneath tall wooden platforms that kept out most of the rain. Those men who had to patrol between the platforms looked cranky and miserable as they slogged their way across the now muddy yard. 

Xellos turned to him and winked. "Showtime, my dear 'Lulu'." 

With a scowl the chimera followed his 'husband' out of the brush. Almost immediately a shout went up from some of the guards, many of whom charged toward the 'couple' with weapons drawn. 

"Remember, you're a frightened woman," Xellos murmured. 

Zelgadis glared at him. _Is that a smirk? _He had to force himself to not drop into a 'ready' pose. Instead he cringed, trying to look vulnerable, curling his arms into his chest with his fists clenched under his chin in an imitation of Amelia. 

"Don't forget to scream," Xellos reminded him. 

__

He's enjoying this. When this is over I'm going to get him for this! 

As the first of the guards drew near, the befrocked chimera cried out in a loud falsetto, "Eeek! Horrible men with swords! Help! Save me, darling!" He ducked behind the mazoku in a deliberately clumsy scuttle, though he could not bring himself to clutch Xellos' arm or shoulder as a real woman would have. _Amelia and Lina would roll their eyes at this overacting, but I can't take any chances. Some men really do respond to a woman's distress. _

The guards encircled the pair. "Is there something I can do for you, gentlemen?" Xellos asked calmly. 

Zelgadis listened with grudging admiration as the apparent man, without ever telling an actual lie (as he had informed Lina back on their ill-fated sea voyage), managed to get the guards to believe that they were a young married couple traveling to visit some friends. 

Though not without some snags. Zelgadis heard one of the men mutter, "What are those things on her skin, warts?" 

He made himself whimper as if mortified, and ducked his head behind Xellos' shoulder. The mazoku answered simply, "Skin condition. It's not polite to mention such a thing in front of a lady." 

Which is absolutely true, even if there's no 'lady' here, Zelgadis thought. 

One of the guards questioned why they were traveling in the rain, instead of waiting it out.

Xellos smirked. "This one is most impatient; stubborn, headstrong, with a vile temper when crossed." 

__

"What?" Zelgadis screeched, managing at the last second to sound feminine. He caught several of the men giving Xellos sympathetic looks as the apparent man cringed, with water dripping from his dark hair. 

"I only meant that it was agreeable for both of us to continue with our journey," Xellos said, his tone that of a man trying to placate his wife. 

The stone man only just managed to contain his ire, although if one of his friends had seen him at that moment, they would have said he looked almost as frightening as Lina did sometimes. One eyes twitched. "Don't you think we should be going, _darling?"_

As if on cue, one of the guards interrupted and made it plain that they could not leave until they had 'met' their leader.

Zelgadis pouted as Lina would have, crossing his arms over his bosom. _"Fine! _Let's get this over with. I'm _cold _and _tired _and _hungry_ and I just want to finish this awful journey!" he whined sulkily, again using his memories of Lina as an example. She could be very childish, for all her power and quick mind, even more so than Amelia.

As he stomped squashily through the assorted puddles, his thoughts wandered. _So far so good. Hold on, Amelia; I'm coming. I hope you're all right…I hope they're all safe. _

One inside the torch-lit cave, some of the men drew back at the sight of Zelgadis' face in the flickering shadows. "Whatever would make a man marry such a hideous wench?" one of them muttered. 

"Money," Xellos answered matter-of-factly. 

Understanding spread over the guards' faces. Again Xellos was beset by sympathetic looks, which irritated Zelgadis. _A true answer, but unforgivably cruel to a real woman. _He quickly reached out and gave the mazoku a good crack over the head with his gloved fist, which no one protested. Xellos winced, but was silent after that. 

*

"Hey, you got the last breadrolls! These are mine!" 

Lina grinned as she relieved the flabbergasted cook of the heavily laden food tray. She seized several of the meat-and-cheese-stuffed hunks of bread and continued eating ravenously. Gourry made a swipe at the tray, managing to snag two of the larger breadrolls. Lina made a growl of protest through her mouthful, but otherwise let him be. _For some reason I just don't feel up to fighting, as fun as it can be. I'll chalk it up to this fever. _

The petite sorceress sat at a 'table' made from a very large wooden crate that had been turned on its side. There were six 'chairs'--smaller wooden crates--two per side, and one at each end. Lina and Gourry sat next to each other on the side closest to the cave's only opening, and the sandy-haired guard whom Lina had befriended, who went by the name of Lann, sat at the end of the table on Lina's right. Another guard stood in the entry. 

The three of them had been waiting in one of the larger caverns, which was obviously being used as a combination mess hall and storeroom. The back wall was stacked as high as the stalactites (which covered a good portion of the ceiling) would allow. Most of the light in the room came from a large cookfire at the far end, where a metal pipe let the smoke out through a small hole in the ceiling. 

It was Lann who had ordered the meal for Gourry and herself, after learning of their difficult night coping with Lina's illness and injury. Though he was not convinced of her innocence, the big man had said, '"You're young enough ta turn over a new leaf, and live the right way. Someone's just gotta give ya that chance."' It had made her wonder if he was talking about a younger version of himself. 

He had also taken the time to dose her with an outerworld painkiller called 'prin', which had an incredibly bitter taste, though two mugs of an exceptionally good, strong variety of tea helped wash away the last of it. Around the same time that she noticed that she could no longer taste the prin, she realized that she was feeling much better. The stiffness in her muscles from sitting immobile in wet clothes the cold cell had eased. Her sprained ankle, still wrapped in her black cape, was almost comfortable as long as she didn't try to move it. Best of all, her fever-induced headache had lessened considerably. 

__

Great! Her spirits rose. _I can think again! _She gave Gourry a happy grin and even let him have the last of the meat stew, in a rare generous mood.

"Well, you look like you're feeling better," Lann commented. 

"I sure am. Thanks, Lann," Lina said jovially. Privately she thought, _I wonder where Ponmar is? Lann said he wanted to talk to me again. He didn't strike me as the type to make himself seem important by making people wait. _

Several minutes later she and Gourry sat looking wistfully at the tabletop, where the empty dishes and licked-clean cutlery lay strewn about like dead soldiers on a battlefield. Lina squared her narrow shoulders and turned to the sandy-haired guard. "Okay, Lann, so where's Ponmar gotten to?" 

He looked puzzled. "You got me. He shoulda been here by now. Somethin' musta come up. He ain't the type ta waste time."

"I didn't think so. So what do you suppose is keeping him?" _He'd better not try 'persuading'_ _me again, or sprained ankle or not, I'm gonna dump the icewater on _him_ and see how _he_ likes it! _

Lann started to answer, but stopped at the sounds of people approaching from the corridor. 

* 

Amelia was walking slowly through one of the stone corridors beside Ponmar, who had asked her if she wanted to meet someone he was 'entertaining'. _He must mean miss Lina. _She bit her lip, wondering if she ought to try to talk to Ponmar about releasing Lina and Gourry, but the dark-bearded man beat her to it. 

"Miss Amelia, are you afraid of Lina Inverse?" 

"Well, maybe a little…" she answered without thinking. Her eyes popped, and she added hastily, "--but not because she's evil or anything! I mean, you don't want to get in her way when she's angry; she does have a hot temper… Oh, I'm not saying this right." 

The man's blue eyes regarded her calmly. Feeling every bit the foolish girl she'd been playacting, Amelia continued, "Miss Lina never stays mad for long. Usually she just punches somebody or hits them with a fireball, but after that she feels things are settled." 

"I see. And how many kingdoms has she attacked?" 

"Oh, a few-" Again, she was flustered. _I wish he'd stop looking at me like that. It reminds me of how Daddy used to look when he was making me admit I'd done something wrong. _"But not because she declared war on them or anything! She's not a conqueror. It's just that some of her spells are so powerful that she accidentally destroys things while fighting dragons or mazoku or…" she trailed off, hiding her face in her hands. _I'm making things worse. _

After several moments, she heard Ponmar's quiet voice. "How do you know all of this?"

__

The moment of truth. Looking up, Amelia hesitated. _A lie would destroy any hope of gaining his trust. Besides, he's looking at me as if he's already guessed the truth. But if I tell him, he might lock me up wherever he's got my friends. _

Her large dark-blue eyes stared into steady cerulean ones as she tried to use every bit of her natural empathy to read him. She looked for anger, hatred, hostility, and only sensed …indecision…hesitation…and a willingness to listen. _His mind is still open, then, _she thought, relieved. '_Someone has to take the first step', Daddy always says. To show trust is to gain it. _

The dark-haired girl took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "I've traveled with Miss Lina before. I helped in the battle with Kopii Rezo, when Sairaag fell. I was there when Miss Lina fought Dark Star, and Lord Phibrizzo the Hellmaster and Lord Gaav and…well, a lot of other bad guys."

Ponmar was nodding slowly as if her statements concurred with his facts. "And who are you? One of her people?" 

"You mean--one of her _gang members?" _Amelia rolled her eyes, looking at him the way all teenagers look at adults who ask dumb questions. "Certainly not." 

Her voice lost the haughty tone. "She doesn't have a gang. And my name really is Amelia…Princess Amelia wil Tesla no Seyrune."_ I hope I'm not making a mistake in telling him all this…_

"My daddy has employed Miss Lina in the past to help us in times of great danger, and she's always succeeded in thwarting the evil plans of those who've attacked us. She's a _hero, _not a villain, no matter _how_ mean-tempered she can be sometimes!" Her voice had taken on the strident, ringing tones of justice. 

Ponmar looked mildly surprised at her vehemence, but continued, "And why are you here?" 

The question brought back some of her caution. _To rescue my friends, of course! So we can all go back to Seyrune and-- _"Miss Lina is missing. I'm very worried about her. She's supposed to be helping me plan my wedding--I have to be back home in time for my seventeenth birthday, or I lose the throne."

"Who else is with you?" 

The young girl opened her mouth, but here caution won out. "I…don't think I should tell you. I mean, you _are_ a stranger…" 

"Sensible," the leader conceded. 

"I can give you my word that nothing I've told you is false--on my honor as the princess of Seyrune."

The man was silent, looking at her with piercing blue eyes for almost a minute. Amelia did her best to return his gaze, though after a few seconds she began to shift her feet uncomfortably. "Um, I need to ask you--do you know where Miss Lina and Mister Gourry are?"

For the first time, Ponmar smiled slightly, seeming to relax and at the same time become more regal. "All right, Princess Amelia. I will return candor with candor. I am a sub-king from the land you know as the outer world, roughly equivalent to your 'lord'."

Amelia listened to his now-familiar tale of how dozens of rouge mages had been attacking various towns and travelers in the outer world. Upon capture, many had admitted to acting under the orders of a certain petite, fiery-haired sorceress. Ponmar had been chosen to head a group of men to seek out and capture Lina Inverse, and ascertain whether or not she was their true leader, and if not, who was? 

He had been almost convinced when he'd entered these lands and had collected rumor upon rumor of Lina Inverse's apparent misdeeds. So he had planned her capture carefully, utilizing this magicless land-zone that an elderly farmer had told one of his men about. 

"I had also planned to lure her here with carefully spread rumors of treasure, but I changed my plans when word came that she was traveling in this area. I sent a man disguised as a vendor to give her some drugged soup, and was therefore able to capture her without any bloodshed." 

Amelia swallowed. "So she's here? And Mister Gourry? Are they all right?"

"They have not been harmed. As of yet I have used a fairly mild interrogation procedures. Her story of your upcoming wedding concurs with yours." The dark-bearded man hesitated. "May I offer my congratulations?" 

Amelia blinked at this unexpected courtesy. "Oh--thank you." She shook herself as her feeling of urgency returned. _Mister Zelgadis will be getting ready to break in here soon. Lord Ponmar seems like a reasonable man. I _have_ to convince him to let my friends go peacefully!_

They were approaching a chamber entrance. Amelia noticed a guard armed with a club standing just inside the doorway. And inside, sitting--where else?--at a table with Mister Gourry was--

"Miss Lina!" 

"Huh?" Lina had just enough time to lift her injured ankle out of the way before a young dark-haired girl crashed into her, her arms crushing her in a stranglehold. "Ow!" she squawked as her ankle sent out a quick stab of pain. 

The girls' sentences overlapped. "Amelia, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, Miss Lina, I was so worried!"

"Where's--" Lina broke off before she said Zelgadis' name. _She said '_I'_ was worried…did something happen to Zelgadis?_

Both girls took deep breaths. "Are you all right?" they asked simultaneously, letting go of each other. Blue eyes met ruby ones. Both blinked. Abruptly both girls burst into laughter, as the watching men smiled. 

"Miss Lina," Amelia asked as their mirth abated, "You haven't done anything to make Lord Ponmar think you're in charge of an army of mages attacking the outer world, have you?" 

Lina scowled. "Of _course_ not, Amelia! That's what I've been trying to tell Ponmar here, but for some reason he's decided I'm guilty. Can you imagine that? _Me, _in charge of an army of invaders?"

Diplomatically Amelia did not comment. She went on to greet Gourry, taking his hand in both of hers and squeezing affectionately. "Have they been treating you all right?" 

"We had a bad night, but Lina's a lot better this morning," Gourry said unexpectedly. 

Amelia gave Lina a quick look, noticing her wrapped ankle for the first time, as well as several bruises on her face. She whirled on Ponmar. "Is _that _what you call mild treatment?" she demanded.

The bearded man looked surprised. "We didn't do that." He turned to the man sitting at the end of the table and spoke in a harsh, commanding tone. "Lann, who is responsible for this? Did one of the men-"

"Wait!" Lina held up her hands. "No one beat me up. I tried to escape and slipped on some loose gravel. Really," she added when Amelia and Ponmar both gave her skeptical looks. 

Lina continued, "Lann convinced me to try talking to you again this morning. Maybe if Amelia vouches for me you'll believe _her." _

Then Amelia watched as the familiar scowl was replaced by a look of surprise. _ No, shock. _The young princess turned toward the entryway to see what had so stunned her friend, and she, too, froze. 

******************************************************************************

****

Author's Note: I just bet you can guess what they see…but you'll hafta wait 'till the next chapter to be sure! 

****

Lieski Tenshi no Earth asked how Zel could use a Rah Tilt to threaten Xellos in the zone of no magic. Well, he couldn't. He was bluffing, and both of them knew it, but Xellos let him because the ol' mazoku really did want to help Lina. 

Oh, and remember I mentioned the show Beauty and the Beast? If you are interested in looking on ebay you'll get the best results using the words 'Beauty Beast TV'. I forgot about the Disney movie and all its merchandise--it takes forever to wade through it all.


	45. Chapter 45: Is This a Rescue or a Circu...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie! 

Note: 

****

Chapter Forty-Five: Is This a Rescue or a Circus? 

In the doorway stood two figures whom both girls instantly recognized. _What is Mister Xellos doing here? _Amelia thought. And then, her face going pink-- _Is that my dress? _

Lina bit her lip, holding back a snort of mirth. She felt her face go red with the effort, and was helpless to stop it. _Zelgadis in gray satin is one thing, but in lacy pink chiffon…! _

The two rain-soaked people were herded into the room by another guard, who told Ponmar that they had been found walking near the cave. "Thank you," the leader said, "Please take up a position halfway between here and the main entrance." The new guard nodded and then retreated back down the corridor. 

Amelia couldn't take her eyes off of Zelgadis, knowing it was he although he had his head wrapped in a scrap of blue fabric and kept his head down so that his face didn't show. Fortunately, the light in the eating hall wasn't very bright. 

She looked at her friends and blinked as she watched Lina apparently trying to hold back a fierce urge to laugh, her face bright red and her clenched hands actually trembling a little. She saw Amelia looking and immediately unclasped them, looking away from the newcomers. 

Ponmar asked the pair to approach the table. They did so, heading toward the two empty seats on the opposite side of the table from Lina and Gourry. "Please sit down," Ponmar said, though anyone could tell it was an order, for all that it was politely phrased. 

The 'woman' in the long pink dress sat on one of the crates. _I hope my dress doesn't catch on a splinter and tear, _Amelia thought as she stared at the chimera. 

The leader gestured to Amelia to sit too, and seated himself at the end opposite Lann. Amelia approached the table hesitantly, but stopped as she heard Xellos pipe up, "I'm afraid we really can't stay. Not that I care, but my friends here are on a very tight schedule and they're running behind. And if I know Lina, she'll try to make me help her find a faster way back to Amelia's home, and she's a _very _difficult person to say 'no' to."

"Who are you?" Ponmar said sharply, half rising out of his chair. The guard at the door took up a 'ready' position. 

"Forgive our rudeness--my name is Xellos, the high priest of Beastmaster Zelas. And this, of course, is Zelgadis Greywyrs. I believe you've heard of him." 

The 'woman's' head jerked up. "Xellos! You traitor!" 'she' shouted with a very masculine voice. 

The chimera stood up, and Amelia winced as she heard a loud ripping noise as a large split appeared in the pink skirt. _My new dress! _

"That is Zelgadis the Desperado? Seize him!" commanded Ponmar. 

Zelgadis' friends reacted instantly. "Oh no you don't! Gourry!" Lina shouted. Her blonde companion instantly intercepted the door-guard as the man passed. As Gourry grappled with the burly man, Lina tried to stop the other guard Lann from getting up from the table by latching onto his arm with her full weight, despite her injured ankle. 

Ponmar's shout had alerted more guards. Within seconds another one had burst through the door and stopped. "Seize him!" Ponmar pointed toward the 'woman'. 

The man began to move, then stopped and looked back at the leader. "Who?" he asked.

"Him!" Ponmar pointed again. 

"Uh, okay…" 

Amelia screamed, "No!" and leaped into the path of the guard. Simultaneously Zelgadis crouched slightly and threw himself into the air feet first in a graceful backflip. 

Time seemed to slow drastically. While still in the air he saw Gourry and Lina running interference, saw Amelia get in the way of the guard and watched as both of them ended up crashing into Xellos, who went down under them. Even as a smirk began to form on his face at the mazoku's bad luck, a shadow loomed past the edge of the kerchief he'd forgotten to take off. 

Too late, he snapped his face forward and his eyes popped. _Oh no! _

CRASH!

The unmistakeable crack of stone on stone caused all the brawlers to freeze and look up. Several mouths dropped open at the sight of the hapless pink-frocked stone man locked in a bear hug with a good-sized stalactite. Upside down, with his arms and legs stretched out stiffly in front of him.

__

Koala, Lina couldn't help thinking, noting the network of cracks that had appeared in the stone column. All eyes followed him as he slowly slid downward, and everyone winced as he landed with a clatter on the stone cavern floor. The heads of the watchers developed large sweatdrops at the sight of the chimera sprawled in an ungainly heap amidst a pile of frilly pink chiffon. Small spirals over his eyes advertised the fact that he'd literally been knocked silly. 

"Okay, now _that's _embarrassing," Lina commented with a wince. 

As his head cleared, Zelgadis realized he was sprawled on his face with his rear end in the air. Instantly he was on his hands and knees, looking up to see a ring of faces staring at him. (Staring! Always _staring_ at me!) 

Most had blank or slightly apologetic expressions, but Ponmar merely looked grim. "If you're finished with your circus diplay, I suggest you surrender yourself. It will only go harder for you if you resist."

"No, Lord Ponmar!" Amelia was suddenly in front of Zelgadis with her arms held out to the sides. "Please listen to me! Mister Zelgadis is innocent. I know he is. I give you my word as the princess of Seyrune!" 

The guards looked surprised at this admission, but their leader only looked more serious. "Miss Amelia, you cannot possibly vouch for this man. By all counts he has caused the deaths of dozens of people. My informants--"

"Are _wrong." _Amelia interrupted with an edge of steel in her voice. "I know this man. I've traveled with him, fought beside him in battle, seen him face the kinds of horrors most people don't even meet in their nightmares…"

She took a deep breath and continued, "The worst thing you can say about him is that he was once a mercenary. A lot of good fighters have been mercenaries at one time in their lives--that doesn't make them evil! Mister Gourry is one of the gentlest men I know, but he was a mercenary for years before he met Miss Lina and decided to devote the rest of his life to protecting her. But he does it for love, not for money!"

The red-haired sorceress let out a squawk of wordless surprise and anger. Amelia jumped, staring at her friend with wide eyes. "I'm sorry Miss Lina, I didn't mean to blurt it out like that! Please forgive me!" Desperately she bowed as deeply as she could without toppling over, spurred on by a well-developed sense of self-preservation. 

Several seconds passed. 

Finally, when nothing happened, Amelia opened one eye, then looked up to see a blushing Lina standing next to Gourry, who was looking down at the redhead with a tolerant smile. Slowly Amelia straightened up a little, realizing that her forehead was covered in sweat droplets. "Miss Lina? A-aren't you going to punish me?" 

All eyes turned to the petite sorceress. She squirmed and grimaced under the combined gazes. "Oh, get up, Amelia," she snapped. "We'll discuss it later. Right now we've got to convince Ponmar to let us go. We're already behind schedule, in case you forgot." Her voice promised that their 'discussion' was not going to be pleasant, but Amelia was astonished that she was letting it go for now.

__

I can't believe it--that's the first time Miss Lina hasn't denied her feelings! Well, sort of. I wonder if something happened between the two of them…

Behind her Ponmar cleared his throat. "Miss Amelia, do you have any proof that you are who you say you are?"

Amelia was indignant. _What? I thought he said he believed me! He must be having second thoughts. _

"Oh, she's definitely Amelia, all right," Gourry said brightly. 

Lina elbowed him. "Numbskull, he means he wants proof that Amelia is a princess."

"Oh."

Amelia said abruptly, "That's it! My royal crest!"

"What?" 

Amelia cringed as Lina fixed her with a shrewd frown. "I thought your father wouldn't let you use it any more." 

"Well, after you charged up such a large amount on it last time…"

After a pause Lina waved her hand in front of her, palm out, saying rapidly, "Well, never mind that now; where is it?"

"In my saddlebag with the makeup kit."

Zelgadis looked up. "Then it's in the custody of your guards, Lord Ponmar. It's the bag I was carrying."

By now, several more guards had arrived. Ponmar sent most of them back to their posts, and one was dispatched to get Amelia's saddlebag. As they all waited for its arrival, the six of them sat down again at the crate-table. Amelia made sure to sit next to Zelgadis, and Lina and Gourry sat across from them. Xellos and Ponmar took the end seats. Lann the guard took up a position behind Lina, as if for moral support. 

"Now, Miss Amelia, are you absolutely sure your father would vouch for your friend?" Ponmar asked.

"Of course." _Now's my chance to show everyone how much I've learned about negotiating, _she thought happily. 

"Even though she is known as Seyrune's Destroyer?"

Instantly a drop of water appeared at her temple. "…Well…she saved it from the mazoku! It's not _her_ fault that the only thing that would kill them was a Dragon Slave. And she was nearly _killed_ doing it." A shadow appeared in her eyes. "It's the only time I've ever seen Mister Gourry cry." 

Everyone went silent at this solemn admission. Amelia watched as her longtime companions' eyes met. The sober look on Gourry's face said that he remembered that occasion very well. When he reached out and put a protective arm around Lina's shoulders, she did not shrug him off as Amelia expected. Instead she only looked tired, as if she were weary of pretending. 

Amelia and Zelgadis watched this display of affection in wonder, then exchanged wide-eyed glances. 

Just then a guard entered the cavern. "Here is the pack you wanted, leader."

"Thank you. Please set it on the table, then resume your duties." 

"Yes, leader."

Amelia got up and walked around the table to Ponmar's end. She unfastened the bag and fumbled around inside, looking for the small inside pocket. "Ah, I have it." She pulled out her crest, the symbol of the royal family of Seyrune. Its gilded scrolled edges gleamed gaudily in the light from the large cookfire. Ponmar held out a hand and she gave it to him. 

The bearded man inspected it carefully. Then he leaned back on his crate and handed it back to her. "Thank you, Princess. I hope I have not offended you, but I must be cautious in this strange land."

Amelia controlled the childish part of her that wanted to shout, _See? _and simply nodded. "Now then…it seems to me that what you need are allies from our world. Friends you can trade with and learn from. I would be willing to ask my father about an alliance with your country or state or kingdom. I know that he has been interested in an alliance for some time now, but so far has not been able to contact anyone in authority."

__

Because a certain someone_ showed up at the cast-off ceremony and blew up the ship before we could make contact. _Now on her best behavior, Amelia resisted sending a glare in Lina's direction.

Ponmar stated, "While I cannot speak for any region other than my own, I will bring word of your offer of an alliance. I am sure many rulers will be interested, if for nothing more than information about how to defend ourselves from magical attacks." 

The red-haired sorceress yawned and looked at Gourry, who had managed to fall asleep on his box, his arms on the big crate-table. _Poor Gourry. Not surprising, considering how he held me all last night. I guess Amelia convinced Ponmar I'm no threat to him, so I'll leave the treaty-talk to her. _Dimly Lina caught the sound of someone cracking open a lobster. 

Food? Though she had just finished eating, a few breadrolls and some stew hadn't really been enough to fill her. She glanced at the cookfire, but no one was there. She sniffed the air, but caught no rich odors, other than realizing that she needed a bath. Badly. So did Gourry. _Ugh. The first pool I come to after we get out of this infuriating magicless zone is gonna be an instant hot spring. _

She listened with mild interest as Zelgadis reported the apparently untrustworthy behavior of Ponmar's perimeter guards. "I had to kill one of them."

"I'm not surprised. We're had problems with that troupe since the beginning."  


Amelia added, "Seyrune will make reparations for them…" 

After a while, Amelia and Ponmar seemed to be winding down, so Lina sat up straight and poked Gourry in the side to wake him up. "Well, now that the preliminaries are out of the way, we need to hit the road. As Xellos pointed out, we're really behind schedule."

"I apologize, Miss Lina, but I cannot let you go." Ponmar turned a serious look on her. 

"What?" Lina sputtered. "But Amelia vouched for me, and you said--"

"I said I believed that she was a princess." The man fixed his gaze on Lina. "Until I have proof that you are not the person we were sent to nullify, I cannot afford to let you go. We have expended too much time, money and resources, and now that you know of this place, you would never voluntarily return here. I am correct, yes?" 

Lina opened her mouth, then closed it. He was right; she would never let herself be so vulnerable again, not if she could help it. She nodded and looked down at the table. _I understand him all too well. He can't afford to let me go, but anything I do to fight my way free only proves that I am what he thinks I am. But I'm not about to let him 'torture' me with ice-water again, either. _She looked up at the young princess. _ Amelia looks like she's going to cry. And Zelgadis has gone cold, like he was when we first met. _

"Can I say something?" Gourry said unexpectedly. 

Ponmar nodded.

"Look, sir, you're the leader of this group, right? I'm sure you didn't get there by not listening to your instincts." 

Again the man nodded.

"Then you should be able to sense who to trust--us, or those mages who told you Lina was some bigshot warlord." 

The bearded man nadded a third time, slowly, and answered, "But it is not that simple. I was chosen on behalf of dozens of small kingdoms, to act in their welfare. I cannot afford to make a mistake. I need Miss Inverse. If she is not the one directing the attacks, as all reports indicate, then she is still the most likely lead to finding out who is."

"It's gotta be someone with a grudge against her," Gourry pointed out. "She's being set up."

"Perhaps. But if she is, then we would need her help to find the real culprit." 

"Well, what if Lina promised to hunt 'em down for you?" 

Lina blinked in astonishment as she realized that Ponmar looked as if he was taking the idea seriously. _Gourry's actually making some progress? _"I'd do that anyway," she said eagerly. "No one sullies the name of Lina Inverse and gets away with it." 

Again Lina saw the same hesitation that had been in Ponmar's eyes the day before, when she had tried to convince him of her innocence during the torture session. Finally he said, "In either case, Miss Inverse is not going anywhere. Nor can I afford to let Mister Greywyrs go."

"But my wedding!" Amelia wailed.

Ponmar turned to her. "I am truly sorry, Miss Amelia. My personal instincts are to trust you, if that is any consolation."

"What about a hostage?" Zelgadis said abruptly. All eyes in the room turned to look at him. 

Ameliashook her head. _No, Zelgadis! _

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****

Author's Note: 'Koala'! (From first-season Slayers) Tee hee-- I wanted to put in some humor, and also add a little seed for a future bit of my story here--did you catch it? No? Well, go back and read more carefully--I wonder who'll guess right! ^__^ 


	46. Chapter 46: I'm In Love With You

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie! 

Note: Notes: A palomino-colored horse is one with a golden body and a white mane and tail.

Varxin is pronounced var-zin 

****

Chapter Forty-Six: "I'm In Love With You"

"What about a hostage?" Zelgadis said abruptly.

Everyone around the table looked at the chimera, who continued calmly, "Amelia and Lina both need to attend the wedding in Seyrune, and Gourry can go to protect them, especially since Lina's injured. Suppose I volunteer to stay behind? If I am Lina's second-in-command, as you believe, she would hardly abandon me here."

Amelia had a growing look of horror on her face. She burst out, "No! You can't! I need you; I need you to--" 

Lina snapped, "Amelia, not now!"

"But Miss Linaaaa!" 

Zelgadis blushed at the scene the princess was making. Her pink lips were trembling and tears threatened to spill from her liquid blue eyes. He closed his eyes as a throb of empathy went through him, quite unaware of the look of anguish on his own face. _I'm sorry, Amelia. It's better that the two of us separate before we get back to Seyrune and I have to refuse you… I'm glad now that you and Lina kept all of this a 'secret' from me. Then I can pretend I don't understand why you're so upset, to spare us both the awkwardness of parting…_

__

Liar, an accusing inner voice spat. You just want to spare yourself the pain of having to refuse her love. The stone man winced, noticing a crackling sound somewhere nearby but not really paying any attention to his surroundings. _You're a coward. You don't want to look into those eyes and say 'sorry, Amelia, you don't mean anything to me' or 'I'll always value your friendship, but it can never be anything more'. _

Slowly Zelgadis forced open stone eyelids that would much rather have remained sealed against the painful scene before him. Amelia had stood up and walked away from the table, facing away from the group, her spine rigid, her shaking fists clenched at her sides. 

Gourry was looking back and forth between the chimera and the princess with his typical bewildered expression. Lina got up and hobbled over to the girl, reaching out to touch her back, but at the last second her fingers curled and she dropped her hand to her side, staring helplessly at the grieving princess. 

Lann the guard had apparently found something interesting on the wall to look at. Xellos was watching everything with his usual blank smile, but of course, the mazoku was undoubtedly enjoying the taste of all the negative emotions in the cavern. Zelgadis restrained the impulse to smash his stone fist into the apparent man's smiling face, and looked away to meet Ponmar's gaze.

He was met with a look of deep understanding. The bearded leader inclined his head toward the young princess, and suddenly Zelgadis became aware that his own expression was probably a mixture of anguish and regret. 

He walked toward the dark-haired girl, not knowing what to say. "Amelia…"

She whirled around to face him. Her cheeks were wet with the tears streaming from agonized blue eyes. "You promised to come to my wedding!"

His surroundings seemed to fade. All that mattered was Amelia. "I promised to try," he said gently. "And I have. But now it's more important to get you back home where you belong, to fulfill your obligation for the good of your people."

He felt a sharp twinge of guilt as he spoke, well aware that he was using her sense of duty against her. He recalled that her father had used the same tactic against her, to try to keep her from accompanying their party. 

This time, however, she did not back down. Instead she advanced on him, an intense, almost fervent look on her face. "But there's something you don't know."

Inwardly he tensed, his mouth going dry. _Amelia, no!_

Lina echoed his thoughts. "No, Amelia!"

Again he vaguely noticed the odd crackling sound, which seemed to match his own internal stress level perfectly--strained to the fracture point. "Amelia," he whispered, hoping to ward off her intention, "I don't think--"

"I'm in love with you." 

Dead silence. Those people who had been politely looking away all snapped their gazes toward the suffering couple. They saw the stone man stagger as if struck by a physical blow. In contrast, the small dark-haired girl stood straighter, a timorous smile managing to shine through her tears.

"I've loved you for a long time now. I think you're the bravest, smartest, handsomest man there is, and it's _you _I want to marry, not some stranger." Her hands, still wearing the half-gloves of the chimera, were clasped under her chin, and her eyes were shining. 

Lina protested weakly, "No, Amelia, you can't confess! You're gonna screw everything up."

"Ahh, it's a little too late now, Lina," Gourry said, ambling forward to stand beside his companion.

Lina heard the strange crackling noise again, but ignored it, grumbling sulkily, "I know, but geez! _All _that planning, _all _that work, and she just _blurts_ it out in the middle of a hostage negotiation! What is _wrong _with that girl?" 

Suddenly Lina felt Gourry's hand on the back of her neck, stroking her hair. She didn't have to look up at him to hear the smile in his voice. "She's in love, Lina," he said simply. 

Zelgadis put his own hand to the back of his neck in embarrassed discomfort. "Amelia…this really isn't the time or place for this…" he muttered weakly, looking at their watchers. He tried to suppress a rising sense of panic. _Not here, not now! What am I supposed to say to her? _He knew his face was as red as stone could get. 

Amelia looked around, seeming to notice their audience for the first time. Then she, too, blushed. "I'm sorry, Mister Zelgadis. I didn't want to propose to you like this--I was supposed to wait until--" 

She broke off, throwing a wide-eyed glance at the glowering Lina. "I--I mean, I was going to wait until after you'd found your cure and had time to adjust to being human again. We--I didn't want to pressure you." 

Several of the men's faces softened. Lina could practically hear Lann thinking, 'Isn't she a sweet girl? So considerate!' 

Zelgadis was stricken voiceless. He had been half-expecting something like this to happen for quite some time… _So why is it suddenly so hard to think? _Amelia was staring at him with hopeful, liquid blue eyes which somehow drained his mind of all thought, leaving behind only a mass of conflicting emotions. A sense of pressure weighed him down, yet a surge of urgency made his body tense and buzzing with energy. He became more desperate as the seconds passed, trying to tear his gaze away from the young girl's radiant face so that he could think, but it was more difficult than he would have believed possible. 

His face must have shown his angst. He watched helplessly as the hope faded from her face. As more tears gathered in her eyes, she spoke in a trembling voice, still trying to smile. "I'm sorry I've embarrassed you, Mister Zelgadis." She whirled suddenly, running for the cavern exit. 

She was past the guard before he could react, but Ponmar said quickly, "Let her go." 

"Oh, Amelia," Lina murmured. She felt Gourry place his hand on her shoulder to give it a comforting squeeze. 

And the stone man stood frozen with a strange, tight feeling in his chest. 

No one moved for almost a minute. Finally, Ponmar stood up from the table and began walking toward the cookfire, passing Lina and Gourry. Lina assumed he was going to get some tea to offer to the poor chimera. 

Gourry looked down at her, then began walking toward the stone man. "Zelgadis?"

The chimera did not move. Lina noticed that his face had set into the same deadened, unfeeling mask he'd worn the time he'd emerged from the Oracle's cavern. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, to snap him out of it, to comfort him--

CRRRACKKK! The sudden noise shattered the silence. Lina discovered that her subconscious mind had already long identified the source of the odd crackling sound (which she had mistaken earlier for the sound of a lobster being cracked open) for she instantly looked upward to see the stalactite that Zelgadis had collided with hurtling to the floor--directly at Ponmar. 

Her muscles reacted before she even had time to call out a warning. The petite sorceress threw herself forward at the man, and both of them went flying to the floor, rolling painfully over the rough stone. The leader's home-made tea mug shattered on the floor, splattering its contents everywhere.

Less than a second later the thick stone column smashed thunderously to the floor right where the man had been. The reverberation boomed though the cavern, deafeningly loud in the enclosed area as the ground shuddered in reaction. 

"Lina!"

"Leader!"

Within seconds Gourry and Lann were leaning over the prone bodies. Lina gritted her teeth from the pain of her battered ankle plus a dozen new cuts and bruises and opened her eyes. She spotted a worried-looking Zelgadis peering over Gourry's shoulder and chuckled weakly. "I should have done this the last time. Nothing like a little life-or-death situation to yank your mind away from your romantic problems." 

Zelgadis gave her a startled look, then acknowledged her humor with a sickly half-smile. Gourry helped her sit up. "Lina, are you all right?"

She groaned. "Yeah, I guess so. What _is_ it about this place? I've been bashed around in here more often than during our fights with mazoku!"

Lann was assisting Ponmar to rise. He gave Lina a warm smile. "Bad luck for you, miss, but it's a good thing you was here--otherwise my leader here woulda ended up through the floor like a nail." 

"Yes…" Ponmar said slowly. He was bleeding from a cut on his forehead, but he looked oddly preoccupied. 

"What happened?" Amelia came barreling into the room. "There was a tremendous crash, and-" She skidded to a stop, her eyes and mouth wide open in surprise as she took in the piles of broken rock and the two bleeding people being helped to their feet. "Oh, my gosh; Miss Lina, are you all right?" 

"She'll be fine," Gourry reassured the girl as he picked Lina up in his arms. He spoke to Lann. "I think we'd better visit your healer's chamber again." 

"Right." 

As Amelia followed, she noted with interest that Lina made no protest whatsoever of Gourry carrying her. 

*

Half an hour later the group was gathered around the crate-table, which had been prudently moved to a spot with no stalactites over it. Several of Ponmar's men had removed the chunks of rock from the broken one. 

Zelgadis had taken advantage of the hiatus to change back into his own clothes, much to his relief. His hands were still bare, since Amelia was still wearing his half-gloves to help cushion the blisters she'd gotten from her sword-fighting lessons, but other than that he was back to normal attire. Amelia's ward bracelet was once again back on the strap of his canteen.

Lina's ankle had been wrapped securely, freeing her cape from bandage-duty so that she was able to wear it again, although it was sadly smudged and wrinkled. She was also sporting several white dressings on her face and arms. Her ruby eyes contrasted dramatically with the bandages as she turned her curious gaze on Ponmar when he began to speak.

"Miss Lina, I want to thank you for saving my life. I realize that if you had done nothing, not only would you have escaped injury, you would also have had a good chance to escape in the confusion."

Lina shrugged, then winced in pain. "Yeah, well, I just reacted without thinking, I guess. But if you really want to reward me, you _could _let us all go." 

She had spoken the last remark flippantly, and so was astonished when Ponmar nodded his head and answered, "Agreed." 

"What?"

"I owe you a life-debt, but equally as important, your instinctive reaction to save my life has indeed convinced me that what you have all been saying is true. I no longer believe you had anything to do with the attacks on our kingdoms." 

Lina and her friends sat dumbfounded. Finally Amelia said, "You--you mean, we can go? Just like that?"

Again the bearded man nodded. "Yes. I deeply regret the trouble I have caused you, and wish you well. I do hope that all of your difficulties are resolved amicably." He said the last bit while looking back and forth between the chimera and the princess.

Amelia had avoided looking at the stone man ever since she had rejoined the group. Those who noticed this, Lina included, were too polite to say anything. 

"Miss Amelia." Ponmar held out an attractive golden arm-band. "Please take this as a token of my intent to pursue relations with your kingdom. It has the crest of the royal family on it." 

Amelia took the wide ring of smooth, gracefully curved metal. It was too large for her to wear, but she admired the engraving, which had three beautiful dolphins leaping from the sea in a surge of plumes. "Thank you, Lord Ponmar. I am glad to have met you. Seyrune needs all the allies it can get…and if you had been a less honorable man, things wouldn't have worked out so well."

Lina nodded. "It _is _nice to meet somebody reasonable once in a while. Oh--and don't worry about those rouge mages. Once our current situation is resolved," she threw a quick glance at Zelgadis and Amelia, "Gourry and I will be hunting down those slimy name-wreckers--you wait and see!"

Most of the people at the table (except for Xellos) shivered to see the expression of potential revenge light up Lina's eyes. Ponmar looked as if he was reconsidering his decree to release her. 

Hastily Amelia stood up. "Well, we really must be going."

Lann asked, "What? In this storm?"

"What storm?" Gourry started to ask, but Zelgadis overrode him. 

"Yes, well, we left some things back at our last camp. I need to recover them before some animal gets into our supplies." 

*

Soon the five travelers were on their way. The rain had thankfully slowed to a mere misting, which offered no real deterrent to the travelers. Amelia and Lina rode double on Amelia's palomino mare Sunshine while the three males walked. 

Almost immediately Lina began to interrogate the mazoku. "So what are you _doing _here, Xellos? Don't tell me your boss sent you here to get in my way again."

He looked as if he wanted to correct her but only said, "Well, actually I just couldn't resist playacting with dear little Zelgadis over there. He looked so _darling_ in that lovely gown." 

Zelgadis frowned, then raised a stone eyebrow and said with a smirk, "Actually, he came to rescue you, Lina. He told me he couldn't bear to see you imprisoned."

Xellos lost his smug look and began to stammer, "That's not quite--I mean, I didn't say it like--uh, that is to say-"

Lina eyes narrowed craftily. "Well, you were right about one thing. So just how do you plan to help us make up for lost time?"

Xellos' eyes popped open, the pale irises clearly showing his distress. "I-I really _can't, _Miss Lina," he whined. "If my master learns that I've even done _this_ much, I'd be-"

"Can you pop us all back to Seyrune or what?" Lina interrupted callously.

Xellos put a hand to the back of his neck, a sweatdrop at his temple. "I--I'm sorry, but I really think that-"

"How about if he arranges for us to get some transportation?" Zelgadis interrupted. _I hate having to ask that bastard for anything. Not that I don't enjoy seeing Xellos squirm, but unless we get some help Amelia's not going to make it in time. We're at least a day and a half behind schedule._

"Why, yes, I suppose I could arrange something." Xellos looked as grateful as a mazoku could. "I can't do anything in Varxin's Realm, but further down the line I'll have some kind of help ready and waiting for you. Ta ta!" He quickly made his escape, vanishing into thin air. 

"Xellos!" Lina yelled in frustration. 

"I wonder what he meant by that," Amelia turned to look over her shoulder at her red-haired friend. 

"Beats me."

"Mister Zelgadis…is Shiran safe?" Amelia spoke directly to the chimera for the first time since the scene in the cavern. Lina noticed that she still did not look at him.

He looked a little surprised, but answered, "Yes. I told her to guard the camp."

*

It took less than ten minutes to reach the campsite. Amelia immediately slid down off of Sunshine to embrace the frantic dragonwolf, running her hands through the huge animal's shaggy lavender fur. A huge pink tongue came out and washed the princess's face before she could duck away.

Amelia giggled. "Stop that, yuck! Oh, Shirry, I missed you!" 

Lina and Gourry watched the greeting with amusement, but their expressions mirrored their surprise as Shiran turned from the girl and bounded over to greet Zelgadis, who had been in the rear of the party. 

Jaws dropped as the ferocious-looking beast let out a low howl that plainly meant, 'Welcome back! I missed you!', and then rose up to place her clawed front feet on Zelgadis' shoulders. On her hind feet Shiran was a good head taller than the stone man, an intimidating creature with sharp teeth, rough lavender fur and glowing emerald eyes, and yet other than looking a bit startled, Zelgadis showed none of the former wariness that Lina remembered. 

Still on the horse's back, Lina grinned at the chimera, who was bracing Shiran's forelegs with one hand and running his bare hand through the longer fur on the side of the animal's neck with the other. "Looks like you've made a friend, eh, Zelgadis? I thought she was supposed to be dangerous."

The petite sorceress was delighted to see a tinge of pink on his nose and cheeks. He released Shiran, who dropped gracefully to the ground and went to sniff noses with Sunshine, who also appeared unafraid. Then Shiran sniffed Lina's booted foot and gave her a nudge. "Hello, Shiran," Lina responded at once, smiling.

Lastly Shiran approached Gourry, who smiled and held out a hand for the dragonwolf to sniff, after which she looked up into his face and wagged her bushy tail as if to say, 'Okay, we're all here. Now what?' 

****************************************************************************** 

****

Author's Note: Poor Zel. The hardest lies to disprove are the ones you tell yourself. He's still trying to believe that what he feels for Amelia is close friendship. 

This chapter is a little confusing--I had to jump back and forth through different characters' points-of-view. I tried to take the POV of whichever character had the least-easiest thoughts to read, so I could say them directly. 

What, 'Zelgadis the Desperado'? Well, I figured Zel would have to be known by some kind of funky badass nickname, at least as far as Ponmar and his men are concerned. I think I got the name from a scene in Try where Zel learns what guns are, and almost instantly becomes an awesome sharpshooter. 

__


	47. Chapter 47: Soothing the Nightmares

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Chapter Forty-Seven: Soothing the Nightmares

The null magic zone known as Varxin's Realm prevented any use of magic, so Amelia let Lina ride her horse Sunshine, until they could heal Lina's sprained ankle, as well as the dozens of cuts and bruises she had gotten in Ponmar's cavern. White bandages decorated every area of the diminutive sorceress' exposed skin, giving her the appearance of a war victim. Which in truth, she _was_--someone else's war. 

By common consent they didn't speak of Amelia's confession of love, Zelgadis' cure or their future plans, only of the things necessary for them to make it out of the bleak, inhospitable realm as quickly as possible. Each of them was secretly dreading the inevitably painful scene that would then take place. 

Zelgadis had changed back into his normal clothing. As they trekked, the chimera gradually discovered that he had somehow acquired the odd habit of watching Amelia closely for no apparent reason. She would be doing something ordinary, something he'd seen her do a thousand times before, and yet he would find himself following her every movement, studying her with disconcerting fascination as if it were all new to him.

When Amelia chose to drink from a nearby stream, his gaze would be drawn to her legs as she knelt. Then he would be mesmerized by the sight of her slim, feminine arms reaching into the rippling azure water, her small, delicate hands raising the sparkling liquid up to her face, and her full, rosy lips pursing sweetly as she sipped the water. He would contemplate how her deep blue eyes closed as she tipped her hands upward to get the last drops, some of which teased him by escaping from those pink lips to roll intriguingly down over her slender pale throat to her collar. She would repeat this process until her thirst was assuaged, and each time he was as captivated as the first. 

He first started to notice this new foible when, in the midst of watching Amelia, he would suddenly notice Lina watching _him, _and then realize his attention had wandered and that he'd been watching the raven-haired princess for some time without being aware of it. He tried to stop himself when he noticed he was doing it, but it was apparently a habit he'd been unconsciously engaging in for quite some time. 

Even more strange was the fact that no one ever commented on it. There were times when Amelia herself would suddenly return his gaze; he would freeze in guilty surprise, yet she would only smile, as if she found it perfectly normal behavior. That made him wonder if his apparent preoccupation with her was in fact all in his mind. 

Yet on several occasions he'd awakened from his reverie to see Lina staring at him with an odd look on her face, an unusually somber expression--for her--which said she understood what he was doing, and why he could go no further. Then, when the petite sorceress realized that he had seen her, sometimes she would wink or stick her tongue out at him with her old mischievousness, but she did not, as he expected, tease him with embarrassing comments in front of the others.

Zelgadis wasn't sure if Gourry noticed--sometimes the man could be incredibly observant, and other times incredibly dense, but you could never predict when he would choose to notice something. If he _did_ notice, he didn't say anything about it, for which the chimera was grateful. 

Lina hadn't lost her inclination to tease him about other things, though. As the group passed through a grassy field, Lina looked down at the stone man from Sunshine's back and asked with a smirk, "So, Zel--where'd you get that cute dress you wore back there?" 

Both Zelgadis and Amelia blushed. The princess could see that he was too embarrassed to say anything, so she spoke up. "It's mine. The clothes were in one of my packs--I thought there might be an occasion to use them." She turned to look at the chimera, and Lina gave her a look which went from surprise to understanding. Amelia didn't have to add, _I was hoping to dress up to look nice for Zelgadis. _

The stone man didn't notice the brief nonverbal exchange between the two girls. Instead he turned a brief, skeptical look on Amelia as if to say, _You expected there might be a party to go to out here in the middle of nowhere? _But he only said, "I'm…sorry they got ruined." His quiet tone was apologetic, and his teal eyes held genuine regret.

Suddenly her dress didn't matter. "Oh, no," Amelia gave him a bright smile. "I'm-I'm glad it came in useful. It was only a dress--it can be replaced."

He gave her a look of surprise, as if he'd been sure she would make a fuss, but then his expression softened into one of the many gentle smiles he had begun using more in the days when it was only the two of them traveling together. Amelia basked in his approval, beaming happily up at him. 

It took several moments for the chimera to remember that they had an audience, but then he looked up at the interested faces of his companions and blushed again, turning his face away from everyone. He expected Lina to make some kind of teasing comment about Amelia's obvious infatuation, or his own lapse from his usually cool countenance, but again she remained silent.

On the first night away from the cave Zelgadis was roused from his sleep with muted feelings of helplessness, grief, and loss filling his mind. _Something's wrong. _He sat up, tilting his head to the side as he listened carefully for any danger. In the low firelight he could make out the pale bulk of the dragonwolf on her side at Amelia's feet, her ribs rising and falling gently. _Shiran's not reacting--and I don't hear anything either. So why do I feel as if someone was calling my name?_

A tiny sound from the princess next to him drew his attention. "Amelia?" He moved over to kneel at her side, bending over her with his hand hesitantly poised to touch her shoulder. The faint orange flickers of the fire illuminated her face; she was smiling gently in her sleep. A small smile touched his own lips as he watched her. _She's fine. Those strange feelings I had earlier are gone now, too…maybe I just had a nightmare or something. I--_

"Zelgadis…darling," the young princess murmured in her sleep, her smile growing even warmer. The chimera froze, his mouth dropping open a little at this sudden endearment. "…happy for you…" she continued softly, "…found your cure at last…" 

Oh. She's the one having the dream. Thoughtfully he glanced at the ward bracelet on her wrist. Was there just the tiniest hint of a glimmer, deep inside it? 

He sighed and prepared to move away to go back to sleep. "No…" Amelia's voice had changed to a pleading tone that made him hesitate. The stone man looked closer and saw the sparkle of tears on the corners of her closed eyes. "Zelgadis, don't you know me? It's me, Amelia…don't you remember?" Zelgadis jumped as her voice rose to a near-shout. "No--please, don't! We're _not_ your enemies!" She let out an inarticulate cry of agony. 

Almost of its own volition his hand reached out and shook her shoulder, gently but firmly. "Amelia, wake up. You're having a nightmare." 

Her eyes opened and she bolted upright. The young girl looked around wildly, then scrambled to her knees in front of him and threw her arms around the alarmed chimera's ribs as he reflexively yanked his arms out to the sides. Amelia buried her face in his chest and burst into tears. "It was so horrible, Zelgadis! You found your cure, but it changed you back into the man you were before Rezo transformed you--you didn't remember me, or any of us. You thought we were your enemies--and tried to kill us!"

Lina was awakened by the sounds of Amelia's weeping. Her eyes snapped open and she tensed to spring to her feet, only to freeze at the astonishing sight of the young princess clinging to the flustered stone man, who couldn't seem to decide what to do with his arms. She couldn't see the girl's face, as Amelia's back was to her, but it was obvious that something was terribly wrong.

Then Shiran blocked her view as she nudged Amelia's back and whined, her large graceful bulk dancing worriedly around her young mistress.

Again Lina began to get up, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder at Gourry, who shook his head at her, a serious look in his blue eyes. She hesitated, biting her lip, but lay back down before Zelgadis noticed her movements. She kept one eye open a crack, hoping Shiran would move so that she could see what was going on. 

Zelgadis was shocked at the violence of Amelia's sobbing. This was only the third time he had ever seen her cry like this--and the first two times had been because of the deaths (real or false) of her parents. He glanced nervously at the others to see if they had been awakened, but neither of them moved, so he relaxed a little, letting his arms sink to a more natural position, though he still held them above her shoulders. _I hope the others don't wake up--I've got to calm her down. Can it really be that upsetting to her? I've face her in battle as her enemy before--and she's a more formidable fighter than she used to be. She could easily defeat the human I used to be. _

A moment later he learned that he was on the wrong track. "Why do I always lose the people I care about? My mother…my sister…my cousin…others. I-it's not fair!" she wailed, her body shaking with sobs. 

"Oh, Amelia," he said softly. As comprehension came to him, Zelgadis relaxed completely, carefully putting his arms around her as he had once done to comfort her about her mother._ I should have known that a simple fight wouldn't scare her like this. _

Again he glanced at the others, then looked down at the top of her head, partly in wonder, partly in bemusement. Even though she had turned to him for comfort before, Zelgadis had assumed it was because he'd been the only one there. Gourry was a more likely choice in his mind, or even Lina, sometimes. But as before, it felt unexpectedly…good to feel needed. It also felt nice to hear her call him by his name, without any of the honorifics… 

Shiran joined in the comforting, rubbing her furry head against the girl's back, pushing the two of them even more closely together. Not that Zelgadis minded, but he hoped Amelia wasn't being bruised against his stone chest. 

It occurred to him that Amelia had never broken down so severely in front of anyone besides him, to his knowledge. She had always been something of a crybaby but always because of momentarily hurt feelings or injuries, not because she was grieving over the still-painful memories from her past. _Those kinds of wounds take the longest to heal--and sometimes they never do. _An image of Rezo flickered in his mind's eye, and he heard the silvery jangle of the priest's staff, a sound that would forever mean pain and betrayal to Zelgadis._ Maybe Amelia realizes I understand how she feels. Perhaps it comforts her… _

Comfort… What else can I do to make her feel better? I don't know what I'm doing… A feeling of helplessness passed briefly over him, but an odd new sentiment took its place almost immediately. It had been a long time since anyone had turned to him for comfort, but in the years since he had known his friends his long-suppressed sensitive side had been emerging, slowly, cautiously, tentatively, from behind the wall around his heart. Recently Amelia had shown him more of her own inner self; the side she never displayed to the rest of the world. She had welcomed his earlier inept attempts at comforting her--something that gave the stone man just enough courage to follow his instincts in a situation like this. 

Gently Zelgadis moved one hand, lightly stroking her back, hoping it might soothe her. "It's all right…" he murmured softly. _She always seems to worry about other people, about their feelings, but what about hers? Who comforts _her_ when she's unhappy? Phil? _"It's all right…" he repeated, suddenly aware of his lack of vocabulary when it came to comforting crying young girls. _I've never been one of Prince Philionel's greatest admirers, but I am grateful that she's had him to turn to… _

As awkward as he felt, his actions seemed to help her. Her sobbing eased, and then a few moments later the young girl suddenly heaved a great sigh and relaxed against him, pulling both of them down from the upright kneeling position they had been in to a more natural one of sitting on their folded legs. 

Amelia had leaned forward to keep her fierce grip on him, so Zelgadis suddenly found himself supporting most of her weight--no problem for him, of course, but he was momentarily stunned by the feeling of her body pressed against him. He tightened his grip to keep her from slipping, hoping that he wasn't holding her too firmly, but he was distracted by the muted sensations--mostly pressure and movement--that he could feel through his stone skin. It was still so novel, despite his having held Amelia in the past, that he could only sit and marvel at the living, breathing feeling of the girl in his arms. 

Shiran lay down on the ground as close to them as possible, her coat--looking pale mauve in the weak firelight--brushing against their legs. After Amelia's tears had subsided to occasional shaky breaths, Zelgadis reluctantly released her, leaning back and sitting upright on legs that, had they not been stone, would surely have gone to sleep from the pressure on them. 

She looked up at him with eyes as deep and reflective as pools, shimmering with feeling. Her cheeks were wet--he didn't even have to look down to know that the front of his shirt surely sported a few damp patches as well. Impulsively he took a corner of his much-torn cloak and gently dried her tears, smiling at her reassuringly. There was something he had to tell her. "Amelia…about your family…" he said quietly, "I never realized it affected you so much. You never show it." 

He didn't notice Lina's eyelashes twitch. His tone deepened, rich with admiration--a rare thing for him. "You're always smiling, happy…making people feel better just because you walk into the room. It's…it's really…" he trailed off, a sudden rush of shyness leaving him tongue-tied, a bright band of pink over his nose.

Amelia stared up at him with wide, shimmering eyes, waiting, but when it became obvious that he could not continue, she smiled lovingly at him and nodded as if to say she understood what he had been trying to say. He smiled a little in return, then his eyes widened as she leaned toward him again, her hands clasped together in front of her chest, an intense look in her sapphire eyes. 

"Promise me you'll never forget me," she pleaded. "I couldn't bear it." 

He gazed into her eyes, so serious, so beseeching, and instinctively reached out to take both of her hands in his. Unaware that he had an audience, the slender chimera vowed solemnly, "I promise, Amelia. I will carry the memory of you with me no matter where I go." His face was grave, resolute, as if he were promising something much more… 

Amelia, looking more than ever like a child, gazed up into his face earnestly for several seconds, then broke into a beautiful bright smile. Her arms went around him for a second time, surprising him yet again. This time she snuggled the side of her face into his shoulder, making a low, contented sound deep in her throat, almost a purr, like a small child hugging a plush toy. 

Zelgadis couldn't help darting another look at Lina and Gourry, who thankfully appeared to have slept through the whole incident. He gave in to the temptation to wrap his arms around her again, taking care to hold her in a way that would be more comfortable than his earlier haphazard embrace. Amelia cuddled closer, her movements a delight in his arms, though his skin itself remained muted to her warmth and undoubtedly-soft skin, as usual. 

I can't believe this is happening. To comfort her for a nightmare is one thing, but this… _I should push her away, _he told himself, feeling a faint stab of conscience. _It isn't fair to her. She thinks there's something between the two of us, but I can't…I shouldn't…_

Yet somehow he was still, allowing the girl to remain where she was, wanting this tender moment between the two of them to last. It would likely be the last time he would ever be able to be so intimate with Amelia--or with anyone, if he couldn't find someone suitable to cast the Oracle's spell, as he'd secretly feared but had never allowed himself to even think of before now.

He listened to the rhythm of her breathing, noting that it was slowing; soon she would be asleep. 

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, enjoying the special female scent that was Amelia; strawberry-scented shampoo, warm skin and even the faint salty smell of her tears. Gradually he realized that even as Amelia seemed to be able to draw comfort from his hard, unyielding embrace, she herself somehow possessed the ability to calm _him,_ to soothe his battered, scrambled feelings, sometimes with her very presence alone. 

Why? he mused, the flickering firelight rippling across his face, displaying his rare, tender smile to anyone who cared to look. He opened his eyes and gazed down at her tousled dark hair. _Why is it _she_ who affects me so strongly? I've known Lina longer; I've had other pretty young female traveling companions before…why Amelia? What makes her so…special?_

Just then Amelia's hold on him eased and she started to slide down into his lap. _She's asleep. _Carefully he shifted his grip, sliding one hand up to cradle her head and upper back, and his other arm supported her lower back. He leaned over and laid her down gently on her back, straightening her legs, making her comfortable. 

I could never imagine holding another girl like this, that's for sure. His eyes widened as he stared down at her sleeping form._ Maybe that's it. No other girl has ever trusted herself to me before. Even Lina is always on her guard around males--which must be really frustrating for Gourry, poor sap--but Amelia…almost since the beginning she's never been the least bit hesitant around me. Lately she's even touching me more often, just as if I didn't have skin that can bruise with a casual bump. I have her trust--and every moment I let her go on thinking that my cure is at hand, and that everything will work out the way she hopes means that I am betraying that trust. _

He sighed, watching the princess sleep, looking as peaceful as a child. _It isn't right, but what else can I do? I can't tell her about the spell the Oracle gave me or she'll want to try it--and possibly be killed or mentally maimed for life. What I _should _do is go off on my own, but I promised Amelia I'd travel to Seyrune for her ceremony. I suppose I could travel separately; keep my distance from her… _

The thought disturbed him. _Maybe I'm just worried that she won't make it in time, or that something will happen to her along the way. _That relieved some of his guilt. _I really should travel with them…just in case. Something might happen--even the Oracle said nothing's ever a hundred percent certain. _

He could not admit, even to himself, that he wanted to stay in the warm ambience of her love.

As he knelt at her side, she turned slightly, moving one arm so that her hand lay palm-up near her head, her fingers lightly curled. _So cute… _"Oh, Amelia…I could never forget you," he said softly, his voice deepening with the affection he never allowed himself to show in public, gently brushing a stray lock of midnight hair away from her eyes. He didn't notice Lina open one ruby eye for a quick peek at him. 

The princess' cape was under her. After a moment's hesitation he unfastened his own cloak and covered her with it. Then he lay down near her on his back with his arms under his head, watching the stars until he fell asleep. 

****************************************************************************

****

Author's Notes: This, by the way, is sometime during week six of their journey. Time left before Amelia's seventeenth birthday/wedding: two weeks! (Give or take a few days.) 

It may not seem so, but this particular chapter was one of the hardest to write. I kept changing my mind and adding more scenes because of later story developments until it eventually became so long that I had to move half of it into chapter 48 and revise all the chapters I'd done after that. Took a whole day of work. 

If you remember, back on the ship Lina had more or less decided not to tease Zelgadis any more about being attracted to Amelia--just in case some of you were thinking that it might be out of character for her to pass up the opportunity to say something about the way Zel keeps watching the little princess. 

Zel can be sort of clueless, huh? Assuming that Amelia was crying because she was afraid to fight, instead of because she might lose him… But at least he did notice that she seems to want to touch him more. Of course he doesn't know about the decision she made back at the palace after she kissed him for the first time…do you remember, my loyal readers? (Gee, sometimes I feel like I'm in The Neverending Story, narrating directly to my audience. ^__^ ) 

****

Summercloud mentioned that my fic is 'oddly satisfying'. The phrase stuck in my mind… I think perhaps the reason people like to write fanfic is when there's some facet of the TV show (or whatever they're writing about) that doesn't satisfy them. Slayers is one of my favorite anime because it _has_ most of the elements that I need to be satisfied with a show--comedy, drama, a little action, fantasy and/or science fiction (what I like to call 'a little weirdness'), mystery/intriguing challenge, likeable characters that you actually care about, a good storyline that's believable and has plenty of room for underlying background that deepens everything and makes it complex--in short, somebody with a brain wrote this thing. The one facet that wasn't explored enough to make me rate this show 'five stars out of five' is that the potential romances weren't explored. I do realize that if they had been, it might have changed the nature of the show, but that totally depends on the author(s). 

Oh, and the fact that the characters' backgrounds were more or less unexplored. As **PsycoCatGirl** noted about Only Stone '--you flesh them out a bit more than I think they did in the anime, which is nice. It adds an extra dimension to the characters, but in a very believable way.' Yup--three-dimensionality. With a show like Slayers, we assume that Lina and Gourry had fairly normal village lives, with Amelia, we know pretty much how a princess lives--Zelgadis is the only real mystery character, aside from his admission that Rezo was a relative of his. 

As **soulstealer yuriko **pointed out, 'It really makes me feel like this is what might have happened after TRY had ended.' --And that's _exactly_ what I was trying to do. Think of Only Stone on the Outside as Slayers Season 4 (and maybe Season Five, too--it's so very much longer than I had planned, but every mini-arc needs the same attention to detail--I can't make myself skimp on anything. I'm just not satisfied until it's perfect. I suppose that's why a lot of authors' works are called 'labors of love'.) 

The way things are now, I think I've got about another 30 chapters or so left to go. Get ready, Lina and Gourry fans--there are several chapters coming up that explore their blossoming romance. Aren't you all glad I spent two years working on this fic? ^__^

****

Earth Star said, 'Amelia told Zelgadis she loved him! Why do I get the feeling that things are going to become a lot more complicated?' --Hoo boy, are you right! ^__^


	48. Chapter 48: How Can You Tell if You're ...

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Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG-13 for minor swearing and lime-i-ness.

****

Chapter Forty-Eight: How Can You Tell if Someone's in Love? 

Amelia woke at dawn as she usually did when traveling on the road. She felt a little drained, but relaxed and in her normal cheerful state. She and Zelgadis were both earlier risers; normally the first one up would stoke the fire for breakfast, but as Amelia sat up to check how much wood they had left from last night she noticed that she was wearing Zelgadis' cloak. 

Some of the events from the previous night came back to her, and she blushed. _Again he held me in his arms while I cried… So much for trying to act more mature. I was crying like a baby… I wonder if the others saw? _She glanced at her friends, who lay nearby, peacefully snoring. She could remember almost none of her nightmare, only the vague sense of loss and betrayal that had shrouded her once again. _He must have been horribly embarrassed._

Her dismay abated somewhat as she recalled: _But he _did_ hug me back. I remember his arms around me. I remember feeling happy and warm and safe… _Her memory was fuzzy on some of the details, but suddenly she recalled his dark blue-green eyes on hers, and his voice saying, "I promise, Amelia." 

Amelia looked toward the chimera to see if he was awake yet. He was lying on his back, his face turned slightly away from her, giving her an inviting view of his throat and jawline, with the tip of his pointed ear peeking out of his hair. She swallowed, her heart pounding as she fought the unexpectedly strong impulse to touch him. _He's so beautiful. _She sighed. _I wonder if I should apologize, or if I should just not embarrass him any further by bringing the subject up at all. _

Then she noticed that it was getting brighter out. _I'd better give him back his cloak before the others wake up. _She looked at the dimly glowing embers of their fire and decided to get some more wood as well. After lovingly draping the tan cloak over the slumbering stone man, the young princess headed off to the nearest good-size copse of trees with Shiran. 

Amelia had managed to find several good, dry branches when Shiran growled softly, more of an acknowledgement than a warning. Amelia whirled around, expecting to see Zelgadis, but instead she found herself looking into Lina's ruby eyes. "Oh--good morning, Miss Lina."

The red-haired sorceress looked at her with a strange expression--strange even beyond all the funny white bandages patchworking her skin here and there. "Is something wrong?" Amelia asked. 

"No--I just--it's just…" Lina stopped, red-faced. _I've never seen her so tongue-tied, _Amelia thought uneasily. 

After a moment, Lina visibly collected herself. "I, ah, I saw the two of you last night." Her tone was almost apologetic, and she put one hand behind her head as if embarrassed. 

"Oh." Amelia felt herself turning red. The two girls stood awkwardly, avoiding each other's gaze for several moments. Amelia bowed her head over her armful of sticks. 

Lina's voice floated over to her. "I think you're really lucky." 

Amelia dropped the wood with a muted clatter on the soft pine needle carpet. "What?"

"I saw the look on Zel's face when he was comforting you. If he wasn't in love before, he is now." 

Amelia felt her eyes grow big and round with wonder. "You--you really think so?" Her heart leaped. 

"Yup," her friend agreed. "Now we just gotta get him to admit it." 

*

They were traveling in a fairly thick forest--thick enough to block out most of the daylight, which made the interior either cool and shady, or grim and gloomy, depending on your mood. Unfortunately, Lina was in a particularly bad mood, for some reason. Several times she snapped at her companions, practically biting their heads off. Finally Gourry asked her straight out, "What's gotten into you today, Lina? Is something the matter? Even _you_ aren't normally this touchy." 

Stung, the petite sorceress responded unthinkingly, "What are you talking about, you jellyfish? How do you know how I am?"

"We have traveled together for a long time, Lina," Gourry stated matter-of-factly. Then he scratched his head and started counting on his fingers, staring off into space as he appeared to be making a serious mental effort to calculate something. "No, actually, you're right on schedule."

"I'm what? What schedule?" Now Lina was the one who was baffled. She traded perplexed looks with the others and shrugged as if to say _I haven't a clue as to what he's talking about. _

"Well, you always get like this about a week before that time of the month. You know, kind of cranky, and grouchy, and mphff--" 

Zelgadis and Amelia stared at the sight of the tall blonde swordsman caught in a vicious headlock by the small red-haired sorceress, who had one hand clamped over his mouth. Lina's face was bright red, contrasting vividly with her white bandages, and there was a murderous look in her ruby eyes that made both onlookers gulp and nod rapidly as she said sweetly, "Do you two mind giving us a little privacy? There's something I feel the need to _discuss_ with Gourry here."

The princess and the chimera beat a hasty retreat back through the trees until they were a good distance away. Both avoided looking at each other, as each was blushing at the casual mention of such a topic. 

As they stood there, Amelia decided to give everyone a snack from Sunshine's saddlebags, mostly as an excuse to have something to do to keep from just sitting there listening for Gourry's screams of pain. 

Zelgadis was wondering why Lina had decided to do her pounding in privacy. _She's never cared whether people saw her hitting anyone before. _As he absently accepted the small pieces of cheese and dried fruit that Amelia handed to him, he voiced his question aloud. 

"I'm not sure if that's all she's going to do," Amelia answered him after a long pause for thought. 

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember last night when Lina and Gourry had that food fight?" Amelia said.

He raised an eyebrow. "If you can call it that--Lina threw her biscuit at him."

"That's when I knew that something had happened between them. They're truly in love now." Amelia beamed up at the chimera, and he could practically see little hearts in her eyes. He felt distinctly uncomfortable with the way this conversation was going, but she had thrown out a lure and he felt compelled to ask, "How do you know that?"

"Because I've never seen Miss Lina waste food instead of eating it. She left it lying on the ground, and didn't object when Shiran went after it." 

"…" _You know…she's right. _Zelgadis was pensive.It made him distinctly uncomfortable to wonder what his two companions were doing now, but at the same time it brought to mind his own situation, his own difficult-to-understand feelings toward Amelia. _I care about her, but do I really…love her? In that way? _

His instincts told him the best thing to do was change the subject, but it occurred to him that this might be a good opportunity to get some information. Females in general seemed to understand romance and relationships much better than males, and Lina and Amelia were the only two girls he knew well enough to ask. His hands twitched, and he experienced the useless urge to bite his stone lip as a powerful sense of temptation struck him. 

Lina was mercurial--she might treat him seriously, she might get embarrassed and refuse to answer, or she might make fun of him. Amelia was much more likely to give him a straight answer, but how to ask the question in a way that would not betray his true motive? "So how can you tell if someone's in love?" he asked, taking care to sound only casually curious, as if he were asking about their friends. 

Amelia turned to look at him with wide eyes. He avoided her gaze, staring at a piece of bark that had somehow gotten torn partially off of a nearby pine tree. The girl hesitated, and finally answered, "Different people show love in different ways. Take my daddy. He makes a big show out of all his emotions, including love. Now, Miss Lina is more likely to _show_ someone how she feels rather than talk about it."

Tentatively he ventured, "And Gourry would likely be more willing to express his feelings verbally, as well as showing them." 

"That's right! Everyone's different." Amelia paused, twiddling her fingers together and refusing to meet his gaze as she asked with pink cheeks, "Did you have some reason for asking, Mister Zelgadis?"

"No. I just…wondered…" He faced away from her to hide his own blush. _Well, that's no help. I should have kept my mouth shut. _

*

"What the hell are you doing, Gourry?" Lina grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him vigorously. 

"Wha-at are y-you taaalking aabout?" he asked indistinctly as her actions rattled his teeth. 

"You never talk about a girl's time of the month in public, numbskull!" She smacked the back of his head with the flat of her hand and dropped him to the ground. 

He sat there rubbing his head. "Oh yeah--I forgot. Sorry."

She stared down at him. "Is that it? You're _sorry?"_

"Well, it's not that big a deal, Lina--it's not like the subject hasn't come up before…" His blue eyes narrowed a little as he looked up at her. "And you were mad even before I said it. Come on, Lina…what's _really_ bothering you?"

When did he get so smart? Lina scowled, debating whether to smack him again or lie, but the searching look in his eyes touch a chord deep inside her and she sighed instead, dropping to the ground on her knees next to him. "It's…this."

"Wha-" Gourry's question was cut off as she covered his mouth with hers in a tender kiss.

A moment later she pulled away, and finally admitted to the truth she had been denying all day, "I want to be able to touch you any time, like before, in the cave. I want to be able to hold your hand or maybe…put my arm around you when we walk, and I want to be able to kiss you without feeling like I'm on stage…but I just can't make myself do stuff like that where people can see me. It's like I'm afraid they'll make fun of me or something." 

"Zelgadis might, but if we asked him not to--" Gourry began, but stopped when Lina snorted derisively. "And Amelia wouldn't laugh, either." His tone was a little defensive. 

"No, she'd want to watch." Lina rolled her eyes. "That'd be even more embarrassing."

Gourry was silent. Lina began to feel guilty for hurting his feelings. She sighed and leaned over to hug him from the side, laying her head against his upper arm just under his shoulder-guard. "I'm sorry, Gourry. I know you're only trying to help."

She felt his hand stoking her hair in his old 'soothing a child' habit--one of the few physical ways he had used to comfort or reward her over the years. She smiled affectionately and caught his hand in hers, bringing it to her lips and kissing his palm--or trying to, but his half-glove got in the way. She settled for kissing his fingertips instead, and had the satisfaction of hearing his breathing growing heavier. "Just a little longer, Gourry," she promised, "and then we'll have all the privacy we want." 

__

Privacy…Lina mused with more curiosity than uneasiness.The idea of making love to Gourry was becoming less frightening and more enticing as she got used to it. She had dreams about it at night, and had even caught herself imagining it during the day. It made her wonder if that was how men were--thinking about being with a woman while they were doing perfectly ordinary things like cooking supper or bathing…

__

Bathing…suddenly Lina had a mental image of Gourry standing under a shining waterfall with no clothes on--just a pile of white bubbles over his--

She shook her head, her face radiating heat like a fireball. _Not now, Lina. We've got to get back to the others. _But that didn't stop her from kissing him a few times on the way back to retrieve their friends. 

*

Later that morning Lina glanced down from the back of the palomino mare at the young princess, who was walking by Zelgadis' side and shook her head. _Enough's enough already. I want some answers. Starting with-- _ "Since when do you wear a sword, Amelia? I thought you hated them."

Amelia glanced up at the chimera with an unusually serious expression and said quietly, "We thought I should be able to defend myself in Varxin's Realm. Mister Zelgadis helped me learn the basics on the way to rescue you, just in case."

Lina frowned. _I've offered to teach her the sword before, but she would never hear of it. She was even more fanatical about that than about justice, and yet somehow Zelgadis managed to get through to her. And what's with this 'we' all of a sudden? Did something…interesting happen between them? _It was on the tip of her tongue to demand some answers, but in light of her own new relationship facets with Gourry she suffered an uncharacteristic attack of discretion about that particular subject. _I'll get Amelia alone and pry it out of her then. _

The petite sorceress looked down at the stone man walking with Amelia beside him and thought, _It's the moment of truth, Zel. _Out loud she said, "Okay, Zel, what's our next stop?"

She looked for some sign of what he was feeling, but he simply continued to walk steadily, his face impassive. "Back to Seyrune."

Amelia looked up at him. "But what about the Oracle?"

Lina answered her. "We've already been there."  


Amelia's eyes widened. "You have? What did she say?"

The red-haired sorceress said crossly, "That's what I've been trying to get Mister Talkative to tell us for days now, but he could be Xellos for all the information he's given us to go on!" 

All eyes turned to the chimera, who looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Come on, Zel, why the secrecy?" Lina scowled. "Get your act together and tell us where we have to go to get your cure!" 

After a moment Zelgadis looked off into the distance. "It's not important."

__

That jerk! "It damned well _is_ important if you want to marry Amelia!" Lina shouted at the slender chimera, who let out a small gasp and stiffened as if she had struck him, his eyes tightly closed. "Or are you as much stone on the inside as you are on the outside?" 

********************************************************

Author's Note: Oooh, what a zinger! Lina has such a sharp tongue. Sorry for the cliffhanger, but this conflict ended up being _way_ too long for one chapter. 

I've never been in love before myself, so do you guys think Lina's gradual acceptance of her feelings for Gourry, especially her physical desires, is accurate? 

Do you think it'd be out of character for Amelia to try to touch Zelgadis while he's sleeping? Just to lay her hand against his face to feel the texture of his skin, maybe caress his face… She's very respectful both by nature and upbringing; she knows it would make him uncomfortable if she were to do it while he's awake--buuut she's also very much in love… ^__^

Stephanie asks when my fic will be done--well, I've written about it several times in past Author's Notes, actually--and I can't give an exact figure 'cause I'm not done yet. I'm on chapter 67 right now.

jadz_i_ka--I love it too when Zel and Ame hug. I write it in whenever it fits into the storyline! ^__^ 

Slayers Otaku-Girl--I figure no one can be that genki (cheerful, energetic) all the time unless they're really trying to be on purpose. Amelia is the kind of person who is not only a natural optimist; she's been trained to care about people and make the best of any situation, so even now, in the face of rejection, she knows that the only way to still have hope is to put her best face forward.

Wesley--In the first season of Slayers Amelia is 14, and a very young 14 at that--still a kid, though with her figure she looks older. As you pass through season 2 and 3 you see how she slowly grows more mature--a little calmer and more logical, though her spirit is still as strong-willed as ever. It's usually only when someone offends her sense of justice that triggers her more extreme behavior. 

Shahrezad1--Only Lina knew Gourry was awake, but she didn't know when he fell asleep, so I couldn't write that bit. But if you were awake, could _you _fall asleep until you knew your friend was feeling better? 

UnholyDragoon--Tangental side stories, huh? Hmm…I guess you're right. I hadn't thought of it that way, but now that you've pointed it out to me, I take a step back and look at my fic and the anime series and see the similarities. As with the series, there are several side stories that don't do much for the main plot, only character development, but you know, some of those are my favorite bits! In the anime two of my favorite episodes are the 'men in drag' one and the 'hunting for lake dragon' one from season two. However, as you noted I usually have some plot bits mixed in, if only having the main characters fight (internally or with each other) about major conflicts that keep everything from falling into the 'happily ever after' category. Writing a story is a lot like planning a battle, isn't it? I'm like, "I need Amelia to be unconscious in this scene, but then again, I need her awake to be able to describe her attackers. What do I do?" This is when I usually ask my friend Marie--she does role playing both online and in a group called Ampguard--and she'll say, "Have Shiran sniff them out." or "How about adding onlookers/witnesses?" Then I slap my forehead and go, "Why didn't I think of that?" Sometimes you need to hash out the details with someone else who'll have new ideas. 

UnholyDragoon also said, '--ye have been skirting the Zel coming clean on what the oracle told him issue.' Well, of _course; _that's the mystery--it's like pulling teeth for the others to get even the tiniest bit of info about his interview with the Oracle from our closemouthed blue friend. But there's a big confrontation coming up--oh, yes. Can you say _angst? ^__^ _

Akai Kiniro--So Zel is a social outcast? Hmm…somehow I feel that even when he was fully human he probably didn't have many friends. By choice, through, which is what a 'lone wolf' is--as am I. Not to be confused with 'lonely' since in my experience I tend to simply not have time to spend hanging out with people when I still have so many projects to finish--this fic, for one. Plus--I find I am often _really_ bored with the company of non-social outcasts--i.e. 'normal' people, because the scope of their knowledge is usually so much narrower than mine. I've always been thought of as the 'smart' one in my family--and I'm pretty sure it's not because I have a particularly high IQ (though I've never taken an IQ test, just personality profiles which aren't the same) it's because I tend to know a little about everything. I've been an avid reader since I was little. In eighth grade my reading level was listed as 'college level' though my math skills were average at best. So as to finding someone to love and trust goes…well, I have a big family; I live with my mother so I have company at home, and though I would like to find a guy to share my life with I'm not sure it'd be fair to him, because I'd need to spend so much time by myself to work on fanfic, painting ceramics, scrapbooking, surfing the net… 


	49. A Proposaland Some Hard Decisions

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Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, because I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. **PG **for minor swearing and lime-i-ness.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

Chapter Forty-Nine: A Proposal…and Some Hard Decisions

"It damned well _is_ important if you want to marry Amelia!" Lina shouted at the slender chimera, who let out a small gasp and stiffened as if she had struck him, his eyes tightly closed. "Or are you as much stone on the inside as you are on the outside?" 

"Miss Lina!" cried Amelia. The young princess was half mortified, half glad that someone had finally brought up the rather ticklish subject they'd all been avoiding. 

Gourry looked from Amelia to Zelgadis and back again. Lina's lips pressed into a hard line as if she regretted her outburst.

Zelgadis turned away from his friends, caught off guard despite the fact that he'd known this scene would arrive sooner or later. _I have to tell Amelia I'm not going to marry her. I have to. _One bare stone hand came up and covered his face, as if the sight of his friends hurt too much to bear._ Should I tell her that I only see her as a friend, or should I just say there's no cure? Either way she'll be devastated. I don't want to hurt her. Is there _any_ way out of this that she'll understand? _

The stone man abruptly began to walk through the trees, away from his friends. "I need to be alone for a few minutes," he said quietly, painfully aware that Amelia was following him with unhappy eyes. 

For once, no one followed him. He walked through the woods for several minutes until he came to a small glen with a stream running through it. A miniature waterfall, perhaps as tall as his shin, created a soothing rippling sound, and all around him he could hear the sweet chirp of songbirds. 

He paid little attention to the beauty around him, lost in his own inner maelstrom. After a moment he went down on one knee, uncaring (indeed, unfeeling) of the damp sticks and earth, and splashed his hard face with water several times, then drank from cupped stone hands. From habit, he unfastened his canteen from his belt and twisted off the cap, but as he began to dip it into the water Amelia's ward bracelet swung downward, gently moving back and forth as it dangled from the cap's twine string. 

Slowly the stone man slid his other hand under the dark blue metal sphere, cradling it gently. Then he pulled it free of the canteen, which he dropped indifferently onto the damp earth, letting the remaining water flow out to rejoin its element in the river. _Amelia. _

He sighed. _I certainly can't tell her that there _is_ a cure, a spell that requires a white magic mage who loves me to perform it, but that the spell involves risking her sanity or even her life . She'll volunteer; I know she will. And when I refuse, that will hurt her most of all. She won't understand that I'm not important--she is. Not just because she's a princess. Amelia is…special… _

He looked up and his blue-green eyes stared at nothing as images of Seyrune's princess appeared before him, smiling, laughing, hugging Shiran, weeping in his arms, bravely facing fearsome opponents in battle, looking vulnerable, sleeping, sitting peacefully, reaching out to touch his face, her sapphire eyes shining with love…

His own blue-green irises quivered with the strength of his feeling. Zelgadis squared his slender shoulders and set his jaw in conviction. _I have to protect her; I don't care what happens to me. Even if I have to lie to her, even if I have to make her hate me, I will never allow her to put herself in danger because of me. _

*

Amelia wrung her hands together, her face full of anxiety. "Miss Lina, what's wrong? Did the Oracle say that--that there's no--"

"Not that I know of." The petite sorceress turned ruby eyes in the direction the chimera had gone. "Some of this is my fault."

"What?"

"When he came out of the Oracle's cave I should have made him tell me what she said."

Amelia blinked. "You didn't _ask_ him?"

"No…but Amelia, you didn't see him when he came out. His eyes…" Lina couldn't help shivering as she remembered, and beneath her, Sunshine snorted and turned her golden head as if to ask, _What's wrong?_

Lina smiled and gave the palomino mare's neck a reassuring pat. "His eyes looked so…haunted. Like he'd seen something nobody should ever have to see. I've seen people like that--people who've just lived through a tragedy. They're in shock, reacting to everything around them automatically, without really thinking or feeling." Her voice grew small and sad. "Some people never really recover." 

Amelia looked up at her with anguish filling her young face, obviously hurting for her chimera. Lina did not add aloud, _If Zel _hadn't_ recovered…I never would have brought him back to Seyrune. _The very notion of the lively, passionate Amelia being married to an emotionally dead Zelgadis, human or not, was anathema to the red-haired sorceress. _She'd have died inside, a little at a time, until nothing was left except a bitter, dried up shell of a woman, hating her life and everything in it. _

Amelia swallowed. "So you were…waiting until he felt better before you asked him?"

"Yeah. You know what did the trick? When you were in danger--I guess it was when you met Shiran. I think you mentioned she saved your life, right?" Amelia nodded. "Well, that bracelet you gave him lit up and started sending--well--a cry for help, I guess. Zel was in a panic 'cause he knew you were too far away to rescue you. Hey, is that why he likes Shiran now?"

Amelia mumbled, "That's part of it...but go on. What happened next?"

"Oh, well, we were all really worried, but eventually the glow faded and then Zel was back to normal. I was really glad. Then he went off on his own for about an hour, sitting on the edge of a cliff--he looked like he was thinking. I was afraid he was getting worse again, but whatever he thought about must have done him some good, because he was like the old Zelgadis after that. To tell you the truth, I didn't want to take the chance of asking him about the Oracle in case it sent him back into the pit he'd finally managed to get out of." 

Gourry looked puzzled. "Zelgadis didn't fall into the pit, Lina, and even if he had, he'd just fly out of--"

"Idiot! An _emotional_ pit!" 

"Oh."

Lina looked back at Amelia, who still looked pensive. "Listen, Amelia, he hasn't said there's no cure. I figure there _is_ one--but it probably involves some kind of sacrifice--like, he has to be the Oracle's slave, or maybe he has to kill someone…"

"That's awful!"

Lina winced. "Sorry--but remember, I'm just guessing. Don't get too upset. We've still got a little time."

"…But suppose the Oracle said his cure is too far away to reach before the wedding?"

Lina frowned thoughtfully. "Hm. That's a problem--but hey, Xellos is supposed to get us some faster transportation--we'll just find a way to make Zelgadis tell us by then." She smirked, raising a fine orange eyebrow. "Maybe he can sweet-talk Filia into flying us again."

The raven-haired girl was silent for a minute or two. "Miss Lina, do you think Mister Zelgadis _wants _to marry me? He looked so…stunned. I've never seen him like this. Is it--" her eyes showed a flash of fear, "is it because he doesn't want to marry me and he's looking for a way to let me down gently? I know he hates emotional scenes…" 

Lina turned somber ruby eyes on her friend. "Well, he has an easy way out, if he stays a chimera until after the ceremony."

"But…he didn't know I was going to propose to him…did he? What if he did guess?" Amelia wailed. "What if he decided he doesn't want to marry me and so he's holding off becoming human so he won't have to turn me away?"

Lina looked down at the white mane in front of her, helplessly stroking the mare's golden neck with a bandaged hand. _I'm not really good at stuff like this… _

Gourry moved closer to the young girl and put an arm around her shoulders. "Well, that's his choice then," he said quietly. "But if you ask me, I think Zelgadis really cares about you, and he's just afraid to show it." 

Amelia closed tear-filled eyes and turned her face into her friend's chest for a moment, taking comfort in his warmth and reassuring male scent. For a moment she was a little girl again, being comforted by her father. As she took a deep, shaky breath, she realized that she missed Zelgadis' own special scent, that of sun-warmed stone, and remembered her vow to try to be less childish. 

Slowly she pulled away from the man and rubbed the tears from her eyes. "Thank you, Mister Gourry…I think I need to go talk to Mister Zelgadis now. Shiran, remain."

Her longtime comrades watched her with somber eyes as the small girl slowly headed deeper into the forest. Lina had an odd look on her face, as if she couldn't decide whether to be angry or baffled. "I just don't understand that guy."

Gourry gave her a quizzical look.

"I was sure he was in love with her after last night."

"…last night?"

Lina rolled her eyes. "Don't you remember? Amelia had a nightmare and Zelgadis comforted her--he _hugged_ her, held her in his arms and let her cry all over him." 

"Oh, yeah. I fell asleep," Gourry admitted.

"Oh, well, see--I got a good look at his face, and you should have seen it. I've _never_ seen him look like that, like…like Amelia was someone precious to him."

Both of them were silent for several moments. Finally Lina said in a bemused tone, "That's why I just don't understand why Zelgadis is acting like this. No matter what the catch for that cure of his is, we'll help him beat it, right? If he loves her, he should be doing everything he can to make sure he doesn't lose her to some other guy. That's what I'd do, if it were me."

Gourry gave her a fond smile. "That's 'cause you never give up. It's one of the reasons I love you." 

As always, his words gave her a start--no one had spoken such words to her in a long time. Lina met his gaze and found herself blushing at how he was looking at her. She gave him a shy smile, suddenly very glad that the feelings between the two of them were out in the open.. 

*

Amelia focused on Zelgadis' presence through the ward bracelet he still carried. It did not take her long to find him, and when she did, she simply stood and watched him. He was down on one knee by a stream, motionless, apparently looking at the rippling water.

At the sight of him her heart gave a pang. _I love him. I want him to be happy, more than anything. If he really doesn't want to marry me, I won't force him… _ Black despair filled her, twisting her face in anguish. _Why is he just kneeling there? Why doesn't he just say he doesn't want to marry me and let us all off the hook? He can go get his cure and I'll go home and marry that boy I met at the ball…Kerrin, that was his name. At least _he_ said he likes me!_

The young girl walked to the side, trying to see his face. As she gazed at the stone man kneeling there with water he probably couldn't feel dripping from his chin and his silver-blue hair, she noticed that his eyes seemed to be looking at something far away. 

A small spark of hope pushed back the despair. _Maybe…maybe he hasn't decided yet. Maybe that's why he looks so troubled. This isn't like him--it's never taken him this long to decide anything. He's always so sure of himself._

Then she noticed that he was holding her ward bracelet in his hand. Her eyes widened. As she stared in surprise, she watched his stone thumb move to caress the metal sphere gently. She felt the flicker of hope within her burst into a brilliant, shining flame. _Maybe I still have a chance! Maybe, oh, maybe… What if I court him? What if I show him how much I love him, how much I need him? It's not a secret anymore…_

Without looking at her, Zelgadis began to speak, his face grave but resolute. "Amelia…"

She tensed, and interrupted hastily, "I understand, Mister Zelgadis. I'm sorry. It's my fault. This was too sudden--you need more time to decide." 

He looked as if he was going to protest, so she added desperately, "We--we don't have to talk about it now--we can just keep on traveling the way we always have. Besides--you did promise to come to my wedding, right? You wouldn't break your word, would you?" 

Zelgadis regarded her steadily, meeting her anxious gaze. Her expression was that of a person grasping at straws, clinging to hope. _That's just like her. To never give up. _Before he knew it he had smiled, and at her answering smile, so full of joy, he felt as if a heavy burden had shifted off of his shoulders. He realized that he wanted to be able to spend these last few weeks in her company; wanted to enjoy the companionship that had grown between them as long as he could, before… 

"No, Amelia," he said quietly, "I wouldn't break my word."

It was only a temporary reprieve, and he knew himself to be a coward, but one look at her joyful face eased his guilty qualms. He wanted her to be happy for as long as possible, even if she was living on false hope. 

"I'll go wait for you with the others, then." Amelia smiled at him one more time, then headed back the way she had come, almost skipping with girlish high spirits. 

His eyes followed her, eyes that still reflected the smile in his heart, even though his face was solemn again. _How is it that this slip of a girl always seems to make things all right again? _

* 

"Miss Lina!" Amelia skidded to a stop on the dry pine needles. Her face, to Lina's surprise, reflected elation, not the misery the young sorceress had been expecting. 

"Amelia, what happened?" 

"Mister Zelgadis didn't say no!"

"You mean he said _yes?" _Lina wasn't sure whether to be happy or worried for her friend. She exchanged a bewildered look with Gourry. 

"Well, not exactly…" Amelia shifted from one foot to the other, now looking uncomfortable. "But I asked him if he wanted more time to think about it, if he wanted to wait to give me his answer until we got back to Seyrune, and he said yes…sort of."

"Sort of?" Gourry repeated.

The dark-haired girl threw a look back over her shoulder. "Umm, listen, Miss Lina, Mister Gourry, I need to ask you a favor. Can you not mention anything about me asking Mister Zelgadis to marry me, or about my wedding or anything like that? I promised him I wouldn't talk about it until we get home."

__

He's stringing her along, poor kid, Lina thought pityingly._ He obviously said that to keep her from pestering him all the way back. What _is _this? Does he want to marry her, or doesn't he? _Slowly her face hardened. _I'm gonna get him alone when Amelia's not around and get the truth out of him if I have to grind his stone butt into sand! _

Meanwhile Gourry was saying, "Sure, we can do that, right, Lina? No talking about Amelia getting married. That's easy enough." 

As the red-haired sorceress watched her friend's face light up at the sight of her beloved chimera returning through the trees, she thought darkly, _Just you wait, Zelgadis Greywyrs. Just you wait. _

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Author's Note: Whew--this was one of those killer chapters that I had to keep rewriting.I'm not altogether sure that Zel is in character here. I know he's usually pretty blunt, even cruel at times, and doesn't always take other people's feelings into consideration when he speaks. He's the type who makes a choice and sticks with it through thick and thin, which is usually considered to be a good, reliable quality in a person, but in this case it's keeping him from reconsidering his decision. 

__

However…he's also never been in love. Now, not only does he have to deal with his own conflicting, mostly-denied feelings, he's also more aware of someone else's feelings than his own for the first time is his life, and _that_ is even more confusing. He's always been fairly selfish; basing all his decisions on what _he_ wants, what will keep _him_ alive and well and (I can't say happy, this _is_ Zel, after all) but satisfied, anyway--but now…he wants to keep _Amelia_ happy. 

It just goes to show how much Zelgadis has changed since the beginning of this fic. He's willing to go against his better judgment to please her. I guess there's some truth to the old saying 'women make fools of men'--although no one ever seems to mention that most men seem to enjoy it! ^__^ --doing illogical things to make a woman happy. (Although in this case Zel knows that she's going to end up sad no matter what.)

So he's making choices based on emotion rather than logic, which is not the norm for him, even though it makes him feel helpless, like things are out of his depth. But he's _still_ trying to stick to the agonizing decision he made back before Amelia joined up with the group, for her own good. To keep her safe. Poor Zel.

****

Slayers Otaku-Girl--It's not quite that time of them month for Lina (or Amelia, in case you were wondering) I did a timetable to figure out when theirs are. Lina does, however, have PMS (premenstrual syndrome) so she is extra crabby right now. Trust Gourry to notice her emotional state, huh? Xellos is a minor character in this fic--and I don't think Filia will appear at all. If she did, all their problems would disappear waaay too easily.

Love--no two people experience 'being in love' the same way, do they? So what you're reading is partly how I imagine it must feel to be in love, plus my interpretation on how each of my very different characters must feel to be in love. I do think, though, that with situations like Amelia and Zelgadis, it's a two-steps-forward-one-back kind of thing. 

****

tbiris said--'it's neat how you're having everything going around in circles and having relationships go slowly, not many do that.' Isn't that like Real Life? See comment on 'steps' above.

  
Thank you, **PsycoCatGirl, **for the _beautiful_ words on love in your last reply. It really helps to imagine what Lina's going through. I wonder if I'll ever know someone so well that it'll feel strange to NOT be together--I've always needed at least three hours a day to be by myself or I get edgy… 

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Stella23--You finished my fic in two days? Wow, I'm impressed. That's like at least four hours a day for average readers. I'm pleased that my fic was good enough to hold your attention for so long--and yes, there's a lot more Lina/Gourry scenes coming up! ^__^ I'm even more pleased that you want to translate this into Chinese. Only please remember to acknowledge me as the original author--either Dreamsinger, Yumekashu, (Dreamsinger in Japanese) or…what's 'dreamsinger' in Chinese? 

Or any other languages, for that matter? Now I'm curious… I always use a variation of this name online. In the AnimeNation message board I'm known as Dreamsinger Rose. I'm Yumekashu on ebay. 

****

Stara Maijka--Thanks for the encouraging words about your boss finding love at age 50-something. I'm not exactly in a hurry anyhow--but who knows what can happen? You're so right about several points that have to do with Lina and Gourry being engaged--but I have added another twist! Ah-ha-ha! I deal with this within a few chapters--and for those of you Lina/Gourry fans--**Twilight, Stella23, **and others--you know who you are--there's going to be some sweet, tender scenes coming up--hope you all like lime-i-ness. ^__^

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	50. Chapter 50: How Do You Court Someone? ...

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Only Stone on the Outside

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a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG for minor swearing and a slightly gory battle scene.

Note: Tollik is pronounced TOL (rhymes with ball) ick

****

Chapter Fifty: How Do You Court Someone? //

When Leapers Attack

One week later: 

Amelia had a problem. _How do you court someone? _

The group had decided to travel back to Seyrune over roughly the same route that Amelia had used. It had taken several days, but once they had passed out of Varxin's Realm, Lina had been duly impressed with her friend's new white magic skills; not only Amelia's direction-finding magic, but her more powerful healing abilities. Fortunately, by then the red-haired sorceress was mostly over the cold she had gotten in Ponmar's cave, so Amelia didn't have to worry about strengthening the cold germs as well. 

Amelia had actually been nearly as surprised as Lina to discover that her healing magic had more than tripled in strength. She had used it once before, to heal Shiran when they'd first met, but had been too distracted by the extraordinary dragonwolf herself to notice the increase in her own powers. 

They were due to arrive in Tollik, Shiran and Sunshine's village, any time now. Amelia wanted to return the sweet-tempered palomino mare personally and visit her new friends one more time, since she knew the chances of returning here in the near future were slim. Lina and Gourry had volunteered to circle around the village with Shiran, to keep the big dragonwolf safe from those townsfolk who still believed she was a vicious, uncontrollable beast. 

Zelgadis had planned to go with them, but Amelia had approached him later as he was gathering firewood.

FLASHBACK:

Amelia: "Mister Zelgadis?"

Zelgadis (gives her a brief glance): "Yes?"

Amelia (sounding hesitant): "I'd like you to come with me to Tollik."

Zelgadis (shakes head): "No thanks."

Amelia (sounding unusually agitated): "Oh, but you really need to. You see...I think …Um, that is…"

Zelgadis (stops walking and turns to look at her a puzzled frown on his face): "What is it, Amelia?"

Amelia (a band of pink appears over her nose): "I think Miss Lina and Mister Gourry might like to spend some time alone together."

Zelgadis (looks at her with wide blue-green eyes) "How do you…" 

Zelgadis (blushes suddenly and avoids her eyes): "……"

Zelgadis (clears throat): "Well…now that you mention it, I'd like to meet the man who owns Sunshine. She's a fine horse. I was thinking a while ago that Seyrune ought to look into buying some like her. They'd be a good investment…" 

Amelia (smiles affectionately): "Thank you, Mister Zelgadis."

END FLASHBACK

Zelgadis hadn't mentioned anything about the night he had comforted Amelia from her nightmare. Amelia had followed his lead so as not to embarrass him, and she was grateful that the others hadn't mentioned anything either, but she was still somewhat hurt that he was behaving as if it had never happened.

Over the past week Amelia had looked for opportunities to impress Zelgadis. She had done what she could to prove to Zelgadis that she could be a good wife, but aside from offering to mend the chimera's somewhat ragged clothes, (he'd said no thanks) there wasn't much she could do on the road. Her other friends' bottomless appetites had ruined her attempt to cook a nice, romantic meal. She couldn't invite him to see a play or another concert, or even just sit and talk with him--not with Lina and Gourry around. 

__

And of course I couldn't try to kiss him, or anything like that, she thought sadly from her perch on Sunshine's back. She had offered to let anyone who was tired ride the horse whenever they wanted to, but all of her friends were more travel-hardened than she, so the young princess still ended up doing most of the riding. She honestly loved being on the mare's back, but she still sent wistful looks down at Zelgadis, wishing she could be at his side as well. _I wonder what it would feel like to ride double? _She blushed a little at the thought. _Of course, he's a little too heavy for Sunny to carry for more than a short trip--and he can move at least as fast._

She sighed, her sapphire eyes taking on a faraway look. _I want to walk arm-in-arm with him, just like we did that night we went to the concert. I want to have long talks with him about important things, and silly things, and I want to try to make him smile--maybe even laugh. I want to stay with him always…to keep traveling with him and make new friends and visit old ones, and I want to stay home and help govern Seyrune, too, and ask his advice when I'm not sure about things…_

She swallowed, feeling a tightness in her throat. _And I want him to hold me when I'm feeling sad, or when I'm happy. I want him to look at me with those beautiful blue-green eyes, eyes that have so much sadness and I want to take the sadness away; I want his eyes to say 'you're special; I want you to be by my side always…I want you.'_

So how do you court somebody? For some reason Miss Lina doesn't want to talk about it any more, even though we did all that planning back in Seyrune. She almost seems angry, but when I ask her if something's bothering her, she says it's nothing. Hmm…I wonder if Mister Gourry might have some ideas? 

Amelia pictured the two of them in a nice homey kitchen, with herself wearing an apron and cooking something over a stove, with the blonde swordsman sitting at a table holding a knife and fork, his tongue hanging out and a happy look in his eyes. She shook her head, a bemused smile on her lips.

__

No, somehow I don't think he knows anything about courting.

*

It was mid-morning when they spotted the village called Tollik, which nestled on the side of a low, long earth-mound, surrounded by both grasslands and wooded areas. Amelia, now on foot leading the palomino mare by the reins, turned to her red-haired friend and said, "All right, Mister Zelgadis and I will meet you on the other side."

Lina looked surprised. "Zel's going with you?"

"Oh, yes; I guess we forgot to tell you. Mister Zelgadis wants to meet Sunshine's owner," Amelia replied. 

"Okay, guys, see you on the other side," Gourry said agreeably.

"Take good care of Shiran," Amelia said to her friends, and knelt down by the pale lavender dragonwolf to wrap the arm that was not holding the mare's reins around Shiran's furry neck. Hugging her firmly, Amelia murmured into the huge animal's long, tapered ear.

Only Zelgadis caught her words and his lips twitched as he forestalled a smirk. "Guard the sheep, Shiran," Amelia ordered in an undertone. "Guard the sheep." 

The chimera recalled that Amelia had once referred to Lina and Gourry by the same unflattering moniker when she had commanded Shiran to trail their friends by scent. She'd said it was best not confuse the dragonwolf with unfamiliar words, but somehow Zelgadis knew Lina wouldn't see it that way if she heard herself being referred to as a 'sheep'. Shiran glanced at the bright-haired couple and left Amelia's side to stand in front of them, her green gaze calm and steady as if to say, _'You can count on me'. _

Amelia mounted the mare and tightened her thighs to signal Sunshine to walk. Zelgadis strode alongside. As he did so, a last roguish impulse made him say teasingly without turning around, "Don't have too much fun now, you two."

There was silence for a moment, during which he pictured the petite sorceress's face turning as red as her hair. "Zelgadis!" she finally sputtered, and he almost chuckled. 

As their friends drew out of sight through a copse of pine trees Lina turned to her blonde companion to see him watching her with a look--for once--of thoughtful contemplation instead of the blank incomprehension she would have expected. _Did he understand what Zel was talking about? _She felt her fading blush return in full force from her hairline to her throat and looked away hurriedly. _I'm going to kill you, Zelgadis! _

As she gazed out over the rolling hills, a cool breeze rippled through the grasslands, caressing her hot cheeks, calming her temper. Delicate blossoms of white, pink, yellow and lavender speckled the landscape, itself a mixture of greens: jades, olives, emeralds, golden-greens, interspersed with white feathery heather. Dancing butterflies of pale blue, peach, and white fluttered among the many flowers. _What a view, _she thought, unknowingly echoing an earlier sentiment of Amelia's. _This place would be great for a picnic._

Her thoughts turned inward, something that was happening a lot more often these days. _This will be the first time Gourry and I will be really alone together since… _Her heartbeat picked up speed as she recalled being sweaty and feverish in Gourry's arms, having him feed her and sing to her and keep her warm. Her memory was vague in some parts--she'd been really out of it at times, too sleepy and headachy to focus, but her imagination helped fill in the details of what might have happened. _At the time I was too tired to care where he put his hands, but now… Well, he'd better not try any funny stuff!_

Gourry saw the diminutive sorceress glance at him and look away, a fierce blush on her cheeks. He watched a scowl appear on her face and wondered that was bothering her. _Maybe she's just worried about Zel and Amelia. I know time's running out…maybe I should take Zelgadis aside and ask him what's wrong. Maybe he doesn't want to say in front of the girls. _

He sighed, his thoughts shifting to the small redhead nearby. _She's been sort of standoffish lately. Not exactly shy; Lina's never shy, but somehow…I can tell she doesn't feel comfortable around me. She hasn't been quite herself since…um, since we left that guy Ponmar's cave. She was really sick for a while, though. _

The blonde swordsman had a sudden flash of memory. Just after they had left the cave in the magicless zone, Lina had still been ill and covered in bandages, riding the friendly horse, Sunshine. Zelgadis and Amelia had left them for a brief time to look for a beehive so that Lina could have some honey to soothe her sore throat. Gourry had volunteered to stay behind with the petite sorceress, who was stiff and sore from her injuries as well as thoroughly exhausted. 

He'd been worried about her. Her eyes had had dark circles under them, and her cheeks had looked thinner than usual, as if she'd lost weight in just the short time they had been confined. 

He'd sat next to her as she'd rested with her back against a tree, giving her worried looks every now and then. Eventually she had noticed and given him an exasperated look. "Don't worry about me, Gourry. It's just a cold, that's all. I'll be fine."

He'd answered sincerely, "But I can't help worrying sometimes, Lina. I love you." 

Lina had made a small sound of shock. "What's wrong?" Gourry had asked instantly.

The look of surprise had faded, and she'd given him a shy smile. "Nothing. I'm just not used to hearing you say that to me. It sounded…nice."

Amelia had returned just then, which had abruptly ended his conversation with Lina, since he wasn't supposed to say anything about 'romance' in front of either her or Zelgadis. The young princess had announced excitedly that she'd spotted a beehive and then retreated so that Zelgadis, with a gauze-scarf from Amelia's pack tied around his head to keep the bees out of his few sensitive areas, could break open the hive and collect some of the honeycomb. 

Gourry had to smile at the memory. The princess had described Zelgadis' every movement with the fervor of someone in love. Apparently the stone man had taken off his cloak and shirt to avoid getting honey on them, an act which had very much impressed the young girl. Like most girls, with their soft, sensitive skins, Amelia had been practically shuddering at the idea of being exposed to the tiny stinging creatures. 

Something else had happened. From Gourry's new perspective--that of a man in love--somehow he'd understood from the flush that had appeared on Amelia's face when she'd talked about a shirtless Zelgadis that she was attracted to the stone man--physically. It had surprised him at first; he'd never really noticed such a thing in either of his young female companions before, but her embarrassment had made him smile understandingly. 

__

I wonder if Lina is attracted to me? the blonde swordsman mused hopefully, watching her as she gazed out over the beautiful landscape. _She's never said whether she thinks I'm good-looking, except when she was trying to get me to dress up like a girl. _He frowned a little at the memory. _I don't think I look like a girl… Anyway, other women have said I was good-looking… Maybe I'm just not her type? Still…she said she loves me--in fact--_

Gourry stopped in the act of turning to ask Lina her opinion on his looks as another half-forgotten memory resurfaced. 

__

'"Will you marry me, Gourry?"' 

Gourry's light blue eyes widened. _That's right; she asked me to marry her, back when we were locked up in the cell. And I said yes. Wow, I forgot all about it. I really am a jellyfish-brain._

He smiled at his revelation, and turned to look at the girl standing next to him, only to see her scowling again as she stared out at the rippling vegetation.

He felt a vague sense of disappointment. _People who are going to be married are in love, right? And people in love hug and kiss and stuff…but Lina doesn't seem to want to. Maybe she _doesn't_ think I'm handsome enough. _He stood quietly for a moment, scratching an itch on his neck. _Hey, maybe she forgot, too. She hasn't said anything to me about it, not even once. _

He drew in a deep breath to ask her, but just then Lina turned to face him and her expression was anything but welcoming. _Later, _he decided hastily. 

"Gourry," Lina said forcefully, "let's get moving. I want to be on the other side of this town by lunchtime. We'll need to catch some extra food to feed Shiran, too. I don't want her wandering off to hunt where some farmer might spot her and freak out."

"Okay, Lina."

They traveled south, giving the town a wide berth so that Shiran wouldn't be tempted to return to her former haunts. Fortunately, she seemed to understand the need to stay near them. The big dragonwolf stayed in sight at all times, ranging ahead of them, her fluffy lavender tail waving cheerfully, her green eyes glowing brightly. 

"I bet she's happy to be near her old home," Gourry observed. "She's really a beautiful animal." 

"Mm," Lina agreed in a lighter tone that seemed to show that her mood had improved. 

Gourry decided she had cooled off enough so that maybe she wouldn't punch his lights out if he asked her some questions, but again he was stymied as Shiran suddenly let out a deep, throbbing growl and took on an aggressive stance. The fur on the dragonwolf's neck rose, her eyes lit up with emerald fire and she bared her fangs as she glared into the bushes ahead of their group. Both humans instantly responded to the warning, drawing their weapons and standing back to back. 

For a long, tense minute, nothing happened. Shiran continued to snarl ferociously as if warning off any potential attackers, her pale fur bristling out all over, making her look even larger than normal. There was a soft rustle off to their left, then another to their right. "They've got us surrounded, Lina," Gourry muttered, his eyes alert for the slightest movement in the foliage. 

"I know," she answered tensely, mentally beginning a spell. A heart-stopping roar from somewhere overhead made her gasp, her heart racing, and almost made her lose her concentration but she grimly continued, realizing only that her enemy was animal, not human. 

She was barely in time to see the flash of tan, black-spotted fur out of the corner of her eyes and shout, "Fireball!" The red-haired sorceress flung her handful of accumulated magic-fire straight into the face of a fierce, cat-like beast with gleaming white fangs. It let out a screeching yowl and retreated, trailing the sickening stench of burned flesh even as others of its kind appeared and began attacking from all sides.

For several seconds the humans were too busy fending off attacks by the lightning-fast predators to do anything but react, but eventually most of their enemy was beaten back or destroyed by either Shiran's teeth, Gourry's sword or her own sword-and-magic combination. Lina listened to the frustrated squalls fading into the distance. 

"What are these things, Lina?" Gourry asked tersely. 

"Leapers, I think. But usually they hunt from trees--that's where they got their name from."

"I think I've heard of them." Gourry paused for a moment dodge the last one--an especially persistent beast--and brought his sword around in a quick, efficient slash to the side of the leaper's neck, severing it cleanly amidst a splash of bright blood. "They don't usually hunt in packs, do they?" 

"No, they don't." A memory struck her. "These must be the ones that attacked Amelia! She was telling me the other day how the leapers that attacked her didn't come at her from trees."

Shiran gave the area a final survey and approached the two humans. Her tongue lolled out as she panted, looking satisfied. "No more danger, Shiran?" Lina asked, amused.

"Thanks for the warning, girl." Gourry knelt down to wipe off his blade on the grass, then sheathed it before reaching out to affectionately ruffle the fur around the dragonwolf's neck. "Hey, Lina, she's got a couple of cuts--can you heal her?" 

"Sure." The petite sorceress tended to their friend's wounds while Gourry kept watch, just in case. "Okay, all done. You okay?"

"Yeah. Are you?"

"Uh-huh. They've changed their habits, all right." The red-haired sorceress was already thinking about their odd encounter as she surveyed the clearing. Perhaps a dozen of the tawny creatures lay scattered around, dead, their faces showing a sort of peacefulness that they had probably never experienced in life. 

"Who?" Gourry asked in puzzlement.

"The leapers, stupid," Lina said mildly, thinking aloud. "It looks like Amelia was right. They're supposed to be nocturnal, too--that means they usually hunt at night--" she said quickly, catching the next question before it was asked. "But these attacked us in broad daylight from the plains…and in a pack…something must have caused them to pack up." 

She looked solemnly at the leaper nearest to her, noticing that it was actually rather beautiful now that it wasn't aiming its teeth at her throat. She also noticed something else. "Look, Gourry--its ribs are showing."

"Yeah," he agreed, looking around at the rest of the animals, "they're all pretty thin. They must have been starving, huh?"

Lina's face formed a thoughtful frown. "Hmm…maybe there's a new predator in the area that's eating their normal prey…or a disease of some kind that's cut down the numbers of small prey animals."

She watched Shiran walk up to one of the leapers and sniff carefully before starting to daintily peel off some of the animal's hide. The petite sorceress turned her face away, wrinkling her nose. "Well, at least Shiran's got something to eat. I'd rather have mine cooked, though."

Gourry asked, "Want me to get us some meat from one of the others? We can have steaks later--lots of 'em."

"Sure, Gourry," Lina answered with less enthusiasm than she normally showed about food. She kept her eyes focused on the distant verdant hills, not caring to watch the messy task Gourry was performing if she didn't have to. She didn't mind preparing seafood, but furry animals were a different story. "It's too bad these others will go to waste, though. Even we can't eat this many before they spoil."

"Not really, Lina," Gourry opened the saddlebag Amelia had left them, pulled out the nearly-waterproof food bag they'd been using and began placing neatly-sliced strips of meat into it. "The other predators in the area will get a good meal. If they're all this thin, they probably need it." 

The idea of anyone having a good meal--even animals--was enough to cheer the young sorceress. "Don't forget to get enough for Zel and Amelia."

************************************************************************

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Author's Notes: Sorry for the short chapter--but at least you get to see what Gourry's been thinking about Lina.

Kazuna-- Wow--you're comparing me to Tolken? I'm flattered! *blushes modestly* 

DarkAngel-Ahria said about love: 'the other major way is you knew all along, kind of like love at first sight, but pretend it's not true for whatever reason (fear, guilt, anger, insecurity, whatever...)' That's exactly what Zel is going through. He's always cared about Amelia, even if he wasn't in love with her while she was younger, but when he saw her after nearly a year away, he fell for her--and then denied--it for many reasons.  
  
**Slayers Otaku-Girl**--'Lime' means scenes where there's romantic situations like kissing and holding and /or caressing, but no sex--at least, not outright, though it might be hinted at. The rating for 'lime' is probably anywhere from PG to around PG-16, depending on how descriptive the author gets. My characters seem to do more _thinking_ about touching the person they love than actually _doing_ anything about it, although there will be some lime scenes with Lina and Gourry, but I don't have them do anything too, er, naughty. Hopefully everyone will enjoy their budding love--it's my first try at writing serious lime scenes… 

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Sylver-Ajah--Thanks for the praise! ^__^ I know my characters aren't acting quite the way they do in the series, but they're also a year older AND each of them has had various experiences during the course of this story that prompted several epiphanies (I love that word--it means they each suddenly realized something important) about the person they love most. 

You said 'The one thing that will make this fic even more believable is a bit of a filler chapter - I think that because they do so many of them in the show, that it would have more of a connection to their actual character traits and reactions. Kind of like a completely humorous chapter or something not dealing STRICTLY with the plot.' 

Well, I do occasional side stories, as some of my other Loyal Readers have mentioned, *grins wryly* especially the Tollik-Shiran storyarc, and the whole Lina-Gourry-kidnapped' arc, but I like to use those for character development, and of course, the days Zelgadis spent traveling alone with Amelia were one of the most essential elements of this entire fic, since I knew he'd never be able to develop any kind of relationship with Amelia if he had the others around. Our Stone Man is much too inhibited when it comes to tenderness…  


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Badgerwolf said: 'awfully arrogant, isn't he? lol, why does he think it's his right to tell her no if she wants to help him? baka zel.' You got _that_ right! But that's how Zelgadis thinks, if I'm any judge of character. He doesn't involve himself in matters that don't concern him, but in matters that _do, _he assumes his word is final. It takes a really forceful person like Lina to make him backtrack, and Amelia, though she can be forceful, would prefer to get along with Zel, rather than fight with him. And hide it when she's upset, so as not to inconvenience others. I remember an episode where Amelia had to partner with Gourry instead of Zel; she obeyed, but we could see she was upset, though she didn't say anything about it. 

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jadz_i_ka--I'd like to update more often, but it cuts into my writing time. See, I'm stuck on chapter 67...so rather than focus on updating, (which takes at least an hour if not more to do a final edit and answer my lovely reviews), I'm doing more revisions and editing and choreographing scenes and trying to decide how to get from where I am to the end, which I _have_ sort of written out, several scenes anyway. I don't want to put up the last of my chapters and then ask you all to twiddle your thumbs for months while I sweat from the pressure…these last 17 chapters are my pressure buffer, you might say. This way, you all have something nice to look forward to every week. ^__^  
  
  
  
  


  


  
  


  



	51. Chapter 51: He Thinks I'm Cute!

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Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, 'cause I like to know people are interested. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie! 

****

Chapter Fifty-One: He Thinks I'm Cute?! 

By the time Gourry had finished taking some meat from the healthiest-looking of the dead leapers, Shiran was also done eating and had groomed herself to remove any traces of blood from her gleaming lavender-white coat. Lina watched the magnificent animal approaching at a smooth trot and smiled at the way her entire countenance spoke of her happy satisfaction. 

Shiran's long, tapered ears, lined along the edges with darker purple fur that matched the streak from her forehead to the base of her bushy tail, were perked forward. Her tail swirled upward in a graceful curve, her gait was relaxed and easy, and her tongue lolled from the side of her mouth. 

"It's too bad there aren't more like her," Gourry commented. "I wouldn't mind having such a good fighter around all the time. We'd never go hungry again."

His remark caused a bell to go off in the back of Lina's mind. "This used to be her territory, didn't it?"

"I guess so. Amelia said she used guard some kind of weird sheep just outside town, I think." Gourry looked puzzled as to where this line of conversation was going.

"Shiran's old master died a few months ago, right?" Lina said as she shouldered one of the packs and they began walking south again. "If there was no one to feed her, she must have hunted all around here…and she's such a good hunter that she could have eaten all the smaller animals in the area. Eventually there might not have been enough the feed the leapers individually, but in a pack they could probably pull down some of the bigger animals like deer--and the town's animals. You know, the ones the townspeople were convinced Shiran was killing?"

Gourry nodded. "Maybe when they find all these leapers together they'll finally realize that Shiran was innocent, huh? And now that she's leaving, do you think the leapers will go back to their old habits and the people will be safe?" 

"Not for a while," Lina answered, "but yeah, I think once the local rodents have had a chance to build up their numbers again everything will be in balance. Thanks to us, the leapers that are left will have more food to go around now."

"Should we hunt some more, then, if that'll help?"

Lina frowned, considering her answer carefully. "I don't mind protecting myself, but somehow I don't like the idea of just going out and killing them in cold blood. They're just trying to survive." 

"Okay, Lina." Gourry sounded glad. "I guess Nature will work it out, huh?"

"Yeah." Lina retreated into her thoughts, musing, _I supposed you could say this was the fault of that mage, Savari, even though his intentions were good. _She shuddered slightly, remembering a previous visit to a chimera-laboratory. _I'm glad chimera-making is banned. People shouldn't mess around with nature--not _that_ much. Look at poor Zelgadis. _

This kind of thinking was too somber for the usually dynamic red-haired sorceress, so after a while she shook it off and returned to a more personal train of thought. _What do I do about Gourry? _

She turned to look at him as they walked. Her ruby eyes traveled over long, muscular legs, slender hips, broad shoulders and a strong back covered by a flow of long, silky butter-yellow hair. Her eyes lingered on his face, studying his cheerful sky-blue eyes, his graceful high cheekbones and delicately pointed chin, his gentle lips that were always ready with a smile. 

__

Eventually Gourry noticed her silent study of him and turned to her, his expression quizzical. She looked away quickly, feeling another of those ever-present blushes on her nose and cheeks. _He caught me looking at him. _She scowled. _This has been going on ever since the Oracle's cave. Sometimes I still can't believe that I told Gourry I love him. I think I do… He said he loved me, and I knew it was true, and I was so happy I just… Well…I know I don't ever want to be apart from him, that the idea of ever losing him scares the crap out of me, so is that love? …And if it is, what am I supposed to do about it?_

Lina looked toward the distant town where her friends had gone, feeling the peacefulness of the gentle countryside at odds with the confusing, swirling emotions within her. She sighed. _Hugging and kissing I think I can handle, but I'm still not sure about the other stuff. _

She sneaked another quick glance at his face from behind her fiery red curtain of hair. _People in love are supposed to want to…to do stuff…with each other. _Her blush intensified, turning her face apple-red. _I used to think the whole idea was really disgusting, but I keep remembering some of the dreams I've had lately, dreams where we're alone together without any clothes and he's holding me and…_ Her face deepened from apple to cherry. 

And I remember that time I was sick and Gourry held me all night to keep me warm and he sang to me and fed me… Her mental voice became affectionate. _He didn't complain once, didn't even seem to mind that I was getting him all damp from my wet clothes, and then later, sweaty from my fever. He never acted disgusted. _Her lips curved in a gentle smile as her blush faded. _I'd never felt so safe, so cared for, so…so loved, in all my life. I want to feel like that again, but we haven't really had a chance to be alone together up to now. I sure wasn't going to ask him to hold me with the others watching us! _

Something else occurred to her:_ I wonder if Amelia feels the same way about Zelgadis? _She shook her head regretfully. _Somehow I doubt it'd feel very good if Zelgadis were ever to really hold her close. He'd have to be really careful. One good squeeze and she'd have a great collection of bruises! _The girl's lips twisted into a smirk, one fine orange eyebrow raised. _Then again, knowing Amelia, she'd probably risk it if she thought he'd let her. _

Her ruby eyes narrowed suspiciously. _The two of them were alone together for three days while they were searching for us. I've been meaning to ask Amelia if anything happened between them, but I haven't had a chance--she never left his side for more than a minute. I've got to get her alone for a while when we meet up with them again. I want to know how she got along with him. I wonder if he acts differently when he's alone with her? Did he try anything with her? And if he did, did she let him? _

Lina's eyes took on a faraway expression as she tried to picture the aloof, serious chimera beaming at Amelia with lovesick eyes, hugging the princess or kissing her, but even in her imagination Zelgadis was so physically forbidding that the young sorceress' mind veered away and focused on a more immediate target. 

If Gourry tried to kiss me right now, would I let him, or whack him a good one? As always, her gaze turned to her male comrade, who was striding along steadily, quietly humming a cheery little tune. She gritted her teeth. _What am I doing? Gourry hasn't treated me any differently since we left Ponmar's. I don't know if it's because he really doesn't want me, or if he's just being a gentleman, or what? But I just can't picture myself going up to him and asking, 'Hey, Gourry, would you mind if I gave you a hug or a kiss', or whatever? He'd probably think I was sick again!_

She bit her lip absently as she thought, letting it slide out from between her teeth only to recapture it. _Still, if neither of us ever makes a move, nothing will ever happen. A year ago I would have been happy with that, but now…it's not enough. I want to show him how I feel about him, but I don't really know how. I mean, face it, I've never been a gentle person. I don't know _how_ to show somebody that I love them. Except for kissing and hugging…but I know there's a lot more to it than that. _

Again she glanced up at her companion, who wore the typical cheerful, slightly oblivious expression she had come to cherish. He looked as if he was constantly listening to some kind of merry music only he could hear. Gourry's_ a gentle person--as gentle as a swordsman can be, anyway--and he _is_ a guy, so maybe he knows about this kind of stuff? _

This was something of a novel idea to the young sorceress; except in battle, Gourry Gabriev was notoriously ignorant of an astonishing number of subjects. _And I don't mean the crude things men refer to when they're coming on to you…I mean the kind of stuff married women gossip about. The kinds of things that make young newlyweds sigh and blush and giggle…_

"Look, Lina." Gourry's voice broke into her thoughts. "That flower looks like Shiran's fur. White, with pinkish-purple on the tips." 

Lina looked back to see him crouching on the ground in front of a large pale flower with six petals. Three were long and thin, two were larger and leaf-shaped, and one grew from the center, curled halfway into a tube with a bright yellow throat. The overall color was a soft pinkish-white which deepened to a lavender at the edges of the petals. There were several more in various colors scattered here and there, now that she noticed; most were either bright magenta, or yellow, or a lovely dark blue-purple color. 

"How about that," she said in surprise. "That's Shiran's namesake--a purple orchid. Someone from the village must've planted them--they're not all that common around here. I can see how she got her name." 

"Sure is pretty, huh, Lina?" He looked up at her and she felt her heart lurch inside her at the adorably childlike smile on his face. She smiled back affectionately, her thoughts a mixture of adoration and amusement. _Of_ course _Gourry wouldn't know anything about romance, _she told herself._ This is the guy who thinks a fiance is a _pickle, _remember? _

"It's too bad Amelia isn't here--she loves unusual flowers," Gourry commented. 

"So let's bring it to her," Lina suggested, her mood unusually generous from the warm, tender feelings evoked by his smile. _Gourry can be so cute sometimes. Just like a little boy. _"I've never seen an orchid this color before. They're usually darker. "

"Really?" Gourry asked as he carefully plucked the stem from the soil and stood up. 

"I think so," Lina answered, watching him as he looked at the flower in his hand and then down

at himself, obviously searching for somewhere to put it. It was surprising how well she knew his thoughts without his having to say a word. She knew he wanted his hands free in case they were attacked again. 

"Hey, Lina, hold still," he said suddenly and stepped toward her. She stiffened in surprise as his hands moved toward her face; for a moment all she could see was the large lavender-and-white flower looming in her field of vision. Then she felt his hands at her headband, pulling it away from her skin, sliding the cool, slender stem inside. 

His hands moved away. "There," he said with satisfaction. "Now it won't get crushed in my pack." 

The petite sorceress breathed in the orchid's scent, a heady perfume that swirled around her as she moved her head to look up at him with wide, wondering eyes. She could feel the blossom bobbing gently; occasionally one of the petals would touch her skin gently, like a lover's kiss… 

Gourry couldn't help smiling at her expression. She looked so much like a shy little girl, her eyes aglow, the big delicately-colored flower decorating her beautiful red hair. "Hey, Lina," he said softly, "You look really cute." 

The words were out of his mouth before he realized that he was going to speak, and suddenly he was worried that Lina might be offended. Her emotions were never easy to understand at the best of times, even now, when he knew that she loved him. He did remember, however, that personal comments often made her angry. The swordsman's sense of self-preservation made him resume walking as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, hoping that she wouldn't suddenly blow up behind him. 

Lina watched him for a moment before following him, filled with wonder at his unexpected action--and his even more unexpected compliment! _He really thinks I'm cute? _Her cheeks finally caught up to her emotions, turning pink with bashful pleasure as she tried to stop a silly, lovesick grin from spreading out over her face. She walked beside her tall partner for a while, simply enjoying his company, trying to suppress the smile that kept wanting to spread over her face every time the flower touched her forehead or cheek. 

Her peaceful mood lasted nearly half an hour before her restlessness returned. As she walked beside the object of her interest she found herself wanting to reach out and hold his hand, which swung so temptingly nearby, but she also discovered that she was curiously hesitant. Every time she began to move her own hand near his, it would stop as if there was an invisible barrier around the man. 

The fiery-haired sorceress clenched her fists at her sides, feeling a sharp twinge in her chest; half anger, half anguish. _What's _wrong_ with me? This isn't like me at all--I've never been such a spineless, wishy-washy coward in my life. I'm Lina Inverse! I don't back down from anything. _

"Hey, Gourry?" she said abruptly.

"Yeah?" 

She took a deep breath, turned to look meet Gourry's curious blue eyes, and felt her resolve leave her in a rush. "……O-oh, nothing," she stammered helplessly, her face flaming. She walked faster, trying to avoid his inquisitive gaze. 

"Lina?" he asked as he jogged after her to catch up. 

"No, it's nothing," she insisted, refusing to look at him. "Never mind." 

She returned to her ruminations, hanging her head to stare at the grass passing beneath her feet. _This isn't like any other challenge I've ever faced. I've never been in love before. Being…intimate…with someone is new territory. I'm like an explorer, afraid to take a wrong step in case it blows up in my face. And Gourry hasn't really given me any encouragement…_

Oh, I've got to talk to Amelia about this. This whole trip was supposed to be about her_ love life, not mine. Still, she's been in love long enough to have thought this all out, hasn't she? _Not once did the idea of talking out her feelings with the object of her angst cross the young sorceress' mind. 

The silence was too much for the young sorceress, who had never been the introspective type; her thoughts were even more confused than when she'd started. _What am I thinking? Amelia's younger than me. _She scowled fiercely, growling under her breath. _Oh, forget it. I'll figure out my problems later._

"Gourry, you got any idea how we can make Zelgadis tell us how to cure him?" she said at random, more to break the silence than anything else. 

He gave her a surprised look as if he'd expected her to say something else. "I don't think we can, Lina," he said finally. 

The fiery-haired sorceress let out all of her pent up anxiety and frustration in a shout of fury, glad for the release. "That stuck-up, ungrateful, arrogant, spiky-haired _jerk! _After _everything_ we've done for him, he repays us like _this? _And what about Amelia? He's breaking her heart. If he doesn't love her he should at _least_ have the decency to tell her outright so she can stop hoping for something that'll never happen and get on with her life!"

Gourry was beginning to worry. Lina was working herself up to the flash point, a point past which anything and everything would set her off. More than once she had cast the Dragon Slave when she was like this--with devastating results. Hurriedly he tried to think of something to say that would calm her down, anything, knowing that one wrong word from him would bring the wrath of the steaming-mad sorceress down on his head. Or some other part of his anatomy that he was especially protective of. 

Vaguely he wondered why he wasn't angry, too. What Lina had said was true. If their stone friend was indeed deceiving the girl Gourry had come to think of as a little sister, that was bad. _It sure isn't fair to Amelia to get her hopes up if he's really _not_ serious about her. But I can't be angry--I understand what it's like to love a girl you're not sure you can have._

"But Zelgadis loves Amelia. I'm sure of it." He voiced his thought aloud. 

"What?" Lina's ranting stopped as her head snapped around to glare up at him. "How do you know that?"

"I just do." He met her ruby eyes steadily with his own blue ones, and was faintly relieved to see a look of doubt cross her face. "Like how I knew Xellos was a mazoku before he told us. I can just tell by the way Zelgadis looks at Amelia that he's in love with her." 

"Then why doesn't he show it?"

Gourry frowned thoughtfully. "I think he's scared to. He's never been in love before; he's probably sort of confused, like he doesn't know how to show it. Or maybe it's because he's shy about showing his feelings in front of other people, like the way you are now that we're all together again." 

"I'm _what?" _she screeched, making the tall swordsman wince at the volume. Lina's face was a 

strange mixture of shock, guilt, and fury. He gulped and wished desperately for a way to take back the last part of his statement, looking around frantically for someplace to hide. Unfortunately, the rounded grassy knoll they were on had absolutely no decent hiding places--or even half-decent ones. With all of his instincts telling him he was about to die, the blonde swordsman clamped his eyes shut and waited tensely for a sudden blast of pain to strike him. 

Several moments passed. Gourry's breath came in quick, frantic gasps, his heart thudded painfully in his chest, remembering again just how much this tiny girl-woman could frighten him. If her magic power was awesome, her rages were phenomenal. They were alarming, terrifying, thrilling--it was often like being caught in a typhoon; you just had to dig in and hold your ground and wait until the storm blew itself out. And hope that you didn't meet your doom during it. 

When there was no pain, no sounds other than the gentle breeze and birdsongs, he dared to open one eye a crack, only to see Lina standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, glaring at him menacingly. "Care to explain that comment just now?" Her voice was biting, acidic, and full of threat.

************************************************************************

Author's Note: Leapers are only about 18 inches (1 ½ feet) tall, not counting the neck and head. They resemble bobcats or lynxes. 

Lavender-tipped orchids do exist--check 'em out online. I did a search for 'lavender orchid' and got some lovely pictures. I'm using one in the header I've printed out on paper as a symbolic picture for this fic. (I always print out my fics in case something happens to my PC and my backup CDs). I've got about 500 pages' worth in a binder right now.

****

Slayers Otaku-Girl asked: 'Do you ever get writer's block?'Yes, I get writer's block--sometimes for months. That's why I decided not to put Only Stone online until I'd gotten most of it written, so you all could read uninterrupted in case I get stuck further down the line. Which I have--I just spent a whole day deciding between two divergent storylines, trying to decide which one to use, and ended up, as I was writing the one I'd chosen, with a storyline that started out as I'd planned but then changed to something quite different. So much for planning! ^__^   
  
**badgerwolf says:** 'poor amelia...'how to court someone' is really the eternal question, isn't it...?' 

--You got _that _right! ^__^  
  
**Earth Star comments: '**They're back in Shiran's old home and now they are investigating the mystery of the Leapers. Do I sense the beginning of a new storyarc?'--- Yup! ^__^  


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jadz_i_ka bemoans: 'hey! wait a second! what happend to that Zel-Lina talk about his cure?! where is it! I want it, and I want it in the next chapter!'--- Well, Lina's plans got thwarted for a while, but don't you worry; there are several confrontation scenes comin' up between the redhead and the chimera!

****

tbiris asks: 'Would the predator have anything to do with the rumors that Lina was massing an army?' --- No…the Lina-is-the-Boss rumors are mostly in the Outer World. In Tollik they always suspected Shiran (animal threats, not human). 


	52. Chapter 52: Return to Tollik: The Land...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

Note: A kiosk is another word for a display booth.

****

Chapter Fifty-Two: Return to Tollik, 

the Land of the Rainbow Sheep 

As the princess and the chimera approached the village Amelia commented, "Look at those things."

"What things?" 

"They look like some kind of flags or banners," she answered. Zelgadis took note of the multiple brightly colored pieces of cloth that fluttered from many of the buildings but were mostly concentrated in an area that looked like a marketplace.

"They weren't here the last time," Amelia explained. "Maybe they're having some kind of celebration?"

Soon it was obvious that she was correct. The people of Tollik seemed to be in a state of great activity. Everyone was wearing bright colored clothes, talking and laughing as they wandered here and there among the kiosks, which displayed everything from clothes to foods to craft items.

"I wonder if Rilloban's family has a kiosk among all this," Amelia said. "Or Toban. I'm sure they'd know who I'm supposed to give Sunshine back to." 

Zelgadis pulled up his mask and brought his cowl up to cover his head. Amelia gave him a curious look. He said quietly, "I told you back at the palace; people are more frightened of demons than they used to be. I don't feel like being made part of the attractions. Let's just find someone you know, give Sunshine to them and get out of here."

He turned to face forward, but not before he caught the look of forlorn sympathy on her face. "I thought you wanted to talk to Sunshine's owner," she protested. 

"If he's here. It's not important."

Amelia frowned and looked away. _You said you wanted horses for Seyrune, as if you planned to live there. Now you say you don't care? _She sighed._ I don't understand you…_

As they approached the crowd several people noticed them and stopped walking. Amelia signaled the golden mare to stop and slid down from the saddle. "Hello there!" she said brightly, smiling and waving. "My name is Amelia, and this is my companion, Mister Zelgadis. I'm looking for Toban, or Sanre, or his son Rilloban."

There was silence for several seconds, then a woman at the edge of the crowd replied, "Toban is running a food kiosk at the other end." 

Another voice came from within the crowd. "Sanre's family has a kiosk about halfway down. They're selling clothing." 

"Thank you very much!" Amelia beamed at the crowd. As she began to lead Sunshine toward them, Zelgadis recalled the last time he had been with Amelia in the middle of a crowd. His cowl had been accidentally removed, and after they'd had a good look at him…well, the situation had not been pretty.

He stopped. "Amelia, why don't you let me hold Sunshine while you go look for your friends," he suggested uneasily. 

She turned to look back. "Huh?"

At her perplexed look, he elaborated. "I just don't feel comfortable around that many people."

The raven-haired girl almost snapped at him in annoyance, but then she noticed his eyes and took a step closer. _He almost looks--afraid. Like a skittish horse. Is this how he's been the past year, wandering around on the outskirts of towns, afraid to be with people? _The wariness in his eyes was not that of a warrior who expected battle, but rather that of a human soul which had been hurt, rejected, spurned, until he turned from human contact, unwilling to trust, to take chances. 

She walked back to stand in front of him. "You don't have to come with me if you really don't want to, Mister Zelgadis. But…it would really mean a lot to me. I want you to meet my new friends. And I'll be right here with you the whole time." She couldn't help herself; she reached out to put her gloved hand over his bare blue one.

He had never asked for his half-gloves back. She had healed her own blistered hands soon after they'd gotten out of range of Varxin's Realm, but had worn his gloves anyway because they made her feel closer to him.

Slowly he looked down at their hands, then back up at her face. Amelia blushed, but instead of removing her hand she shifted her grip until it was firmly holding his, clasped in mid-air between them. Her deep blue eyes were staring fiercely into his as she were trying to convince him of her sincerity. "I won't leave you alone," she said solemnly.

Her sapphire gaze was so pure, so intense that all he could do was nod, and let her lead him by the hand through the crowd. He felt a little foolish, but another part of him was warmed by her considerate gesture. And somehow the crowd did not look as intimidating as it had only moments before.

*

Lina was standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, glaring at him menacingly. "Care to explain that comment just now?" Her voice was biting, acidic, and full of threat.

Gourry knew he could be dumb sometimes, but not that dumb. "Um…how Zelgadis is shy, and he--"

"No, you numbskull, the part about _me _being shy. What do you think I am, some kind of coward? Some weak, dithering, frail flower like Sylphiel? 

"Huh?" Gourry's eyes widened in surprise, his fear over her sudden fury fading. "Lina, no one could ever call you weak." He shook his head emphatically in denial, his long blonde hair streaming around him. "Or a coward. You're the bravest, smartest, strongest girl I know; nobody else can _ever_ compare to you." His tone was honest, sincere, reassuring. 

It seemed that he had said the right thing for once, judging from the way her eyes softened. "Really?" she asked softly.

Gourry blinked. "Well, yeah, of course. Why do you think I said yes when you asked me to marry you?"

Her jaw dropped. "I WHAT?" she roared in his face, practically lifting him off of the ground with the force of her bellow, his yellow hair whooshing out behind him. 

*

Amelia led both of her friends through Tollik's crowd, looking for the kiosk that was run by her friend Rilloban. However, being female, she couldn't help looking longingly at the other kiosks, hoping to have a little time later to shop. Her head turned rapidly, trying to take in as many things as possible, as vivid colors and delicious-looking foods caught her eye. 

"I've never seen so many bright clothes before!" she said enthusiastically to Zelgadis, who was still holding her hand. He had Sunshine's reins in his other hand, to let Amelia concentrate on searching through the crowd for her friend.   


"That's because a' the wool from our rainbow sheep," an old man with a long gray beard interjected. "Yeh never has ta die it, nor will it eveh fade. An' it's so soft e'en a lady with skin soft as yers c'n wear it--no itches!" He held up a woven sweater of a soft pink color. To please him, Amelia reached out and took a corner between her thumb and forefinger. Her eyes widened. "Why, you're right! I never would have guessed that this is wool--it's so soft!"

The old man chuckled in a squeaky voice. "Innerested in tryin' it on, miss?" 

"I would _love_ to…but I must meet my friend, Rilloban, at his kiosk. Maybe later--I'd love to bring this home as a souvenir."

The man nodded. " 'Is old man's kiosk's 'bout six o' sev'n down on the right."

"Thank you." Amelia squeezed Zelgadis' hand in a way that he somehow knew meant she had been humoring the man, at least a little. He gave her a wry half-smile, careful not to let anyone else see his face. Then it occurred to him that she must be gripping his hand hard enough to be uncomfortable for her, if he could feel it. She must have figured out how much pressure he could feel, though he had no idea how. Perhaps just by tightening her hand around his until he reacted. 

He almost tried to release her hand, but just then she stopped and pointed with her other hand. "I think I see him! Yoo-hoo, Ril!"

A man with light brown hair in a short braid turned around. "Oh--Mister Sanre, hello!" Amelia stopped up to his kiosk, which had neat stacks of multicolored clothing of all types and weaves, from smooth cotton shirts and dresses to plush wool stockings and sweaters. 

The man calmly watched them approach, then smiled slowly. "Miss Amelia. Well met. I see you have a companion this time." 

Zelgadis realized that for all his genial manner, this man was lean and tough and had deep green eyes that missed nothing: hunter's eyes. Undoubtedly he had already looked for Shiran, who had been banned from the town. He felt the man's gaze upon him, assessing him as a potential threat, and was careful to make no sudden moves. He knew the man had undoubtedly noticed the areas of stone skin that showed around the edges of his facial coverings, and tensed inwardly, ready to put himself in front of Amelia if the man denounced them as demons. 

Then Amelia squeezed his hand again, smiling up at him encouragingly. He suddenly remembered something she had told him once--'When you're a young girl, people want to help you and take care of you. It's easy to like them.' He realized then that she probably saw Sanre through very different eyes. 

To Amelia, this man was most likely a father-figure, someone from whom she could expect help if she ever needed it--and being the adorable, spunky girl that she was, she would most probably receive anything she asked for. It would never occur to her to question it, or to believe that if he, Zelgadis, asked for the same help, his answer would most likely be very different. 

He watched Sanre relax minutely, and felt his own body ease. Apparently he had passed inspection, undoubtedly helped by Amelia's obviously devoted endorsement. He sighed and smiled down at her, knowing that the very innocence that made people want to protect her also kept her from understanding how different life was for someone like him. _Never lose that innocence, Amelia._

The young girl released his hand and gestured toward him. "This is my friend, Zelgadis Greywyrs. Mister Zelgadis, this is Sanre, Rilloban's father. He was one of the men who helped us catch Shiran." 

Zelgadis nodded cordially, and echoed Sanre, "Well met." 

"So Mister Sanre, what is all this? Are you having a celebration?" Amelia asked.

"We are. Three times a year we have gatherings like this to help promote our people's trades. Our village is known for our wool, which comes from the rainbow sheep."

"Rainbow sheep?" Zelgadis found himself interested in spite of himself. "A vendor mentioned something about that. Some new kind of sheep…"  


Sanre nodded. "Yes. They were created by a mage called Mister Savari. He was a peaceful man, an honest man who took care to obtain the permission of the town council to do his experiments. He employed several of our people, and our town prospered due to the popularity of the wool, which grows from each sheep already colored, and never fades no matter how often one washes it." 

"He created Shiran, too, didn't he?" Zelgadis asked.

The man gave him a steady look. "She was the flock's guardian, yes." He turned to the young princess. "Is she well, Miss Amelia?"

Amelia smiled. "Oh, yes, she's adjusted very well. I feel safe with her around. She likes all of my friends too, especially Mister Zelgadis." 

For the first time Sanre looked mildly surprised. "Does she, now?" He gave the stone man a thoughtful look. "Well, you should be honored, Mister Zelgadis. Shiran's very choosy about the company she keeps."

With a hint of amusement in his tone, Zelgadis answered, "So I hear." He could almost feel the remaining tension in the air draining away. _I guess Shiran's endorsement counts for more than even Amelia's. _

"I'd love to see some of the sheep before we go," Amelia said cheerfully. "They must be so pretty."

"Well, Ril is off helping look after Gerrik's lamb kiosk with his sweetheart Kembri, if you want to stop by to say hello." 

"He _is? _And he finally got up the courage to tell Miss Kembri how he feels about her? Oh, Mister Zelgadis, we _have_ to go see them!" Amelia bounced on her toes, beaming at both men. "He was a such great help to me with Shiran, so friendly and kind. I want to give him my congratulations." 

"We're kind of in a hurry…" Zelgadis began, but Amelia turned her large pleading blue eyes on him, and he surrendered. "Maybe we can spare a few minutes." 

"How's Sunshine working out for you, by the way?" Sanre asked. 

Amelia turned around and reached behind them to stroke the golden mare's shoulder. "She's been wonderful. I don't know what I would have done without her. She's been the most faithful, willing horse I've ever ridden. I'm…going to miss her a lot." The mare nudged the girl's shoulder with her soft nose in a friendly manner. Amelia turned back to the two men, and Zelgadis was conscious of how unhappiness made her face look as if a shadow had passed over it, dimming her brilliance. 

Sanre was silent for a moment. "I don't suppose you'd be interested in keeping her?" he said slowly. 

Amelia's eyes widened. "What? You mean it?"

Sanre nodded. "Her owner is my brother, Renbaro. He's away on a trip, looking for potential buyers for his stock. Up to now, he's been breeding work horses, but ever since he bought a new stallion he's had several horses born that are built too lightly to do heavy work all day. Some, like Sunshine, are also temperamentally unsuited--they have a tendency to bond with their owners, which makes them difficult to sell."

He came out from behind his kiosk and went to pat the mare's neck affectionately. Sunshine obviously recognized him, for she nudged his chest gently and whickered. "However, as you may have noticed with Sunshine, they also inherited his work horses' willingness--give them the right owner and they'll go until they drop. Renbaro had a hard time selling them until Ril pointed that out to him. So now he's looking for owners who want riding horses, messenger horses, that sort of thing."

Amelia gave the lean man a thoughtful look. "How much is he asking?"

Sanre's green eyes looked at her appraisingly. "I'd say…850." 

Amelia protested, "Oh, but that's much too low. Even I know that much."

Zelgadis said nothing, though he agreed with the princess. _She's probably worth at least twice that--more if you count the foals she'll have. We don't want his brother to come after us, claiming the princess of Seyrune cheated him. _

Sanre smiled. "Well, you're right, except I added in how much business you'll bring my brother when word gets around that the princess of Seyrune endorses our stock."

Zelgadis hadn't realized that the man knew who she was, since Amelia usually preferred to travel incognito, but now he caught on. "Advertising…people will think, 'if the royal family likes this line of horses, they must be good ones'." _Fair enough. Sanre and his brother could probably even raise the prices of their horses and people will pay it willingly. He could give Sunshine to Amelia for free, and still make a sizeable profit. A shrewd man, but fair--he could have asked her to pay full price. _

Amelia touched the side of her forefinger to her chin in a 'thinking' gesture that seemed vaguely familiar to the chimera, though he did not recognize it as one she had picked up from him. He didn't know if she realized that she could probably make a bargain to take the mare for free, but he knew her well enough to know that her sense of justice would not allow her to leave without paying the man something. 

He turned to her. "It's a fair price, Amelia. And it would be a good idea to bring Sunshine back to Seyrune as a sample of Mister Renbaro's stock." 

Amelia nodded. "I know, Mister Zelgadis. Daddy gave me the crest, but he didn't say I could buy another horse. Still, Gallant's gone…"

Zelgadis was a little surprised that she was thinking this through so carefully. He had the impression that she would have immediately squealed, 'Done!' and slapped the crest into Sanre's hand. He kept being reminded that she was growing up at the oddest times. 

Amelia finished, "And even _you _said she's a really good horse, so it's not like I'd be buying recklessly…so…it's a deal, Mister Sanre." She gave the man a bright smile and went to dig out her crest from Sunshine's saddlebag. 

Zelgadis let his eyes wander idly over some of the displays, which held clothing of all kinds, craft work, jewelry, food… _It's a good thing Lina and Gourry didn't come with us. Amelia's crest would have been put to some hard use. _He smirked, remembering the last time Lina had gotten her hands on it. Amelia had been in a lot of trouble over the enormous bill that Seyrune had received.

Sanre didn't waste time over the transaction, and soon the three of them were on their way. Amelia tucked Sunshine's official papers into her saddlebag, but put the crest into the pink, fluffy pouch that she wore at her hip in case she had need of it again. 

Sanre had told them where to find his son, so within a few minutes they were approaching a little fenced-in area that held gamboling lambs that were-as promised-every color of the rainbow, in many different shades. A kiosk was nearby, but no one was in attendance. 

Amelia was enchanted. "Oh, they're adorable!" she cooed, reaching down over the waist-high wooden fence to stroke a little bright blue lamb. 

"D-don't touch them!"

***********************************************************************

****

Author's Note: Betcha can't guess who _that_ is! ^__^

Right now I'm doing a scene where I need Zelgadis to look at Amelia with love in his eyes, tenderness, adoration, but I'm having a hard time picturing it. There aren't many pictures of him like that online, so I thought: Gee, it would be a really nifty Christmas present if someone could draw me a couple of sketches of Zelgadis in love. Not only so I can appreciate the pictures in their own right ^__~ it would be a big help to me to write (somewhat) intimate scenes between our favorite couple…and especially later, as Zel and Amelia grow ever-closer (lime…). 

Or screencaps, if they're easier. There's exactly one 2-second scene that had Zel looking _affectionate_ that I can remember from the show: Season 2 (Next) at the end of the Brass Rackets episode. When Amelia offers Zel the trophy, he takes it and looks at her with a very tender, grateful expression--but only for a couple of seconds. I've never seen a single screencap of that exact pic online, and believe me, I've looked!

* Fans of Lina/Gourry rev your engines: the next couple of chapters are going to have some wonderful romantic/lime scenes for you to enjoy! Just in time for Christmas… I didn't plan it that way, really… ^__^ 


	53. Chapter 53: Shopping and Music The Keys...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto amd Marie!

Note: Kembri--KEMM-bree-- the 'e' in the first syllable as in 'pen'

Belahn--bell-AHN

****

Chapter Fifty-Three: Shopping and Music-- 

The Keys to a Happy Heart

"D-don't touch them!"

Amelia jerked her hand back from the rainbow lambs as if she'd been bitten. Zelgadis had his sword drawn and was standing between her and the young man who had emerged from behind the kiosk before the boy had time to do more than gasp. "Who are you?" he asked evenly, his sword point gleaming an inch from the boy's throat. 

Amelia held up a hand. "Wait, Mister Zelgadis, this is Rilloban, my friend!"

Zelgadis took a closer look at the young man. He was about Amelia's age, with light brown hair and deep green eyes like his father Sanre's, although Rilloban's hair had golden highlights in it. It was cut so that it fell in a sleek curtain around his head, similar to Xellos' pageboy style, although a few inches longer. He was also much more frightened than Sanre probably would have been with a sword aimed at his throat. 

Slowly Zelgadis lowered his blade. "Sorry," he said, not really apologetic, but willing to be cordial. 

"M-me too." The boy looked sheepish. "I-I d-didn't mean to yell. It's j-j-just--" He looked over Amelia's shoulder. "Wh-where's Shiran?"

Zelgadis sheathed his sword as Amelia answered, "We had to leave her outside the village--she's not allowed here, remember? Don't worry, some friends of ours are keeping an eye on her."

"Oh. W-well, you see, if you t-touch the lambs, Shiran will smell them and she'll t-try to take them back to Mister Savari's place. It-it's happened before. I d-didn't mean to scare you--I'm sorry."

"That's okay." Amelia smiled, adding, "I never would have thought of that." 

"So h-how's she d-doing?"

Amelia smiled. "She really seems to like being with us."

"Us?"

Amelia nodded. "Her favorite person besides me is Mister Zelgadis." She gestured to the chimera.

As before, the dragonwolf's approval carried considerable weight. Rilloban gave the stone man a thoughtful look, and seemed to relax a little. "Th-that's good. I was afraid she'd n-never be happy again." His soft voice held genuine affection for the big dragonwolf.

"I s-see you still have Sunshine with you," he added with a smile. "How are you g-getting along together?"

"She's just as sweet as you said she was, Ril. I just bought her from Mister Sanre." 

"You did? Th-that's great--I w-was hoping the two of you would hit it off. She c-couldn't ask for a better owner."

Amelia laughed and replied brightly, "Now, what's this I hear about you and Kembri? Is she here? I'd love to meet her."

The young man laughed a little with a hand behind his head. "Sh-she's here. She went to buy us some f-food before the noon rush." 

His green eyes took on an expression most girls would have called 'dreamy'. "I asked M-miss Kembri to g-go for a trail ride with me. We-we had a long talk. Sh-she said she's always l-liked me--she d-doesn't mind my stutter. Miss Amelia-" Suddenly he was bowing deeply to her, his light brown hair flowing forward like a curtain over his cheeks as he said almost fervently, "Th-thank you so m-much for giving me the courage to follow my heart. M-miss Kembri and I have been so happy, and-and it's all thanks to you." 

Amelia looked a little uncomfortable, but she answered softly, "I'm really happy that I was able to help, Ril."

As he stood up, he glanced at Zelgadis and began, "About your--I m-mean--the curse--"

Rilloban stopped when he saw the shadow drop over Amelia's eyes. "Not yet," she murmured unhappily. 

Zelgadis could see that like most men, Rilloban didn't like to see Amelia unhappy. He looked solemn for a minute, then asked, "Have y-you tried _our_ healer yet? R-remember, I s-said her p-p-powers were stronger than they used to be?" His voice held the hopefulness of a child.

Out of habit Zelgadis asked, "What healer?" and then remembered that he had no need for one. The golden sphere that the Oracle had given him was still hidden in the inner pocket of his rough cotton shirt. 

Amelia brightened. "Oh, Ril told me last time about his village's healer. When the Barrier came down, she noticed that her powers were a lot stronger. Is she here, Ril?"

The young man shook his head, his shining gold-brown hair sweeping back and forth. "N-not yet--she's supposed to be running a k-kiosk with herbal remedies, b-but she had to go visit a p-patient, so she won't be back for an hour or so."

__

Good. "Amelia, we really don't have time to wait-" he began, only to stop at the forbidding look she turned on him. He shook his head. _She must be taking lessons from Lina. _

"We can spare an hour, right, Mister Zelgadis?" she said sweetly, though her expression promised severe bodily harm if he refused. He nodded. 

Rilloban had sensibly kept out of the discussion, but now he suggested, "L-look, why don't you l-let me look after Sunshine while the two of you t-take a look around? The healer's k-kiosk is just over there." He pointed to a wooden stand with a cloth draped over it and added, "W-when the healer returns I'll come find you." 

Amelia's expression lightened immediately. "Oh, would you? I did want to look at a few things…" 

Zelgadis exchanged a look of complete understanding with Rilloban. _All women ever want to do is shop. _

* 

The chimera suffered himself to be led through the sunny, crowded street. It was lined on both sides with kiosks selling all manner of things, but his needs were few, so he spent most of the time watching Amelia's reactions to various items. 

Amelia was enjoying this unexpected treat. She had always loved to shop, but usually on her adventures she had had to keep the things she carried to a minimum. However, she was on her way home, not here to fight evil, and with Sunshine along she decided she could indulge herself for once.

She looked longingly at the displays of shining gold and silver jewelry set with sparkling stones of every color, wishing she had the time to try some on. The next kiosk had handsome wooden carvings of birds and animals, each lovingly polished and colored in natural shades ranging from light pine through warm cherry and honey-colored woods through deepest ebony. 

Zelgadis showed some interest in the carvings, but when she offered to buy one for him, he only said, "I don't need it." She frowned at him, disappointed and a little annoyed at his refusal to have a little fun, now that they had the chance. _There must be something here he'd enjoy. I just have to keep looking._

There were people selling leather goods, intricate statues and jewelry made from pewter, and foods of all kinds. Amelia eventually bought a packet of sweets for Lina and Gourry, since they had to miss the fun. She also collected several other types of food that traveled well for her friends to sample, as well as a large amount of grain for Sunshine, which would give the horse more energy than grass. 

Zelgadis, of course, ended up carrying most of the packages, in the age-old role of Lady's Escort.

In the center of the street a raised wooden platform had been constructed for entertainers. As the princess and the chimera drew near it, a pair of harpists began playing a duet. Amelia was reminded of the concert they had seen together in Seyrune, and glanced up to see her companion already lost in the music. 

As she smiled up at him affectionately, she remembered something she had been meaning to do for a while now. _I wanted to get some new clothes for Mister Zelgadis. The ones he's wearing are the same ones he's had for years--they're getting really awful-looking, all worn and stained and mended everywhere. Maybe I can surprise him with new ones--he can't say 'no' if I give them to him after we've already left here, right? _

She tugged on his sleeve. "Mister Zelgadis? I'm going to look at some clothes over there--Mister Sanre's kiosk--see it? You can stay here and watch the packages and listen to the music, if you want."

He nodded absently, obviously focusing on the melody. 

Amelia was sorry to miss the music, but Zelgadis was more important. The raven-haired girl made her way through the crowd toward the kiosk run by her friend Rilloban's father, Sanre. It was one of the largest, with two extra tables, one on each side, to display the clothing. _I wish there was time for us to have some clothing made especially for Mister Zelgadis--I have some really good ideas about the kinds of clothes he'd look good in, but I suppose he wouldn't let them measure him, anyway. I'll just have to hope that I find something ready-made that will look nice. _

A gentle-looking woman with long blonde hair approached her. "May I help you find something, miss?" 

"Is Mister Sanre here, ma'am?" 

"I'm sorry." The woman made a small bow, and explained, "My husband just stepped out for a moment to get some food from Mister Toban's kiosk."

Amelia's eyes widened. "Your husband? Then you are Ril's mother?"

The blonde woman smiled and nodded, making a small noise of assent. "I am Belahn." 

Amelia bowed deeply, then bounced back up, her hair bobbing as she said enthusiastically, "I'm so glad to meet you! My name is Amelia."

"Oh, you're the girl who saved Shiran!" The woman came forward and took her hands, smiling warmly at her, her sky-blue eyes shining with joy. "I've heard so much about you! You made it possible for my son to court the girl he's always loved." She gave the girl's hands a gentle squeeze. "Thank you so much! I've never seen my son so happy."

Amelia beamed back at her, already coming to like this woman. _Ril has her smile, and her gentle nature. _"It was my pleasure." 

Belahn released her hands and stepped back a little. "Are you looked for Ril, too? He's helping out today at the lamb kiosk Kembri's family is running." 

Amelia nodded. "I know. We were just there."

"We? I thought you were traveling alone."

"Oh, I was, but now I've met up with my companions and we're on the way home to my wedding--uh, that is…" She found herself blushing fiercely. _No talking about weddings, right? _she reminded herself.

"Oh, yes, Ril mentioned something about your fiance…and a curse?" Belahn murmured discreetly, although fortunately there were no other shoppers in the tent at the moment.

The young girl raised her hands and waved then desperately in front of her. "No, he's not my--that is, he--well…" Her shoulders slumped in defeat. _I want him to be…but now's not the time to get into this. I have to get some clothes and return before Mister Zelgadis comes looking for me._

Amelia took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "We're still working on his cure," she said rapidly, "and we hope Miss Dahri can help us, but in the meantime…" Amelia pointed toward the people gathered around the music dais. Zelgadis had backed away from the crowd to stand at its edge. "Do you see that man over there? The slender one in tan with the cape and the bags of grain at his feet?"

The woman nodded. Amelia continued, "That's my…" She blushed a little, and Belahn smiled understandingly. "I want to buy him a new outfit as a surprise. I know the kinds of fabrics and colors that will look best on him, so I just need to look at things that are the right size." 

"I see." The blonde woman nodded and led Amelia to a section of men's clothing. The young girl picked up a maroon shirt of heavy wool and wrinkled her nose. "He would look awful in red." 

It felt almost as if she had done this before. Amelia scanned the table and another shirt immediately caught her eye. As soon as her fingers closed on a long-sleeved pale blue tunic made of a mixture of light wool and another, slightly tougher fabric, she knew she had found the right one. _Solid wool shrinks when it gets wet, but this isn't all wool. _

She lifted it free from the pile and spread it out to look at. It had dark purple embroidery in a simple geometric pattern around the cuffs and was cut for a long-boned, slender man. _This is perfect. It won't look too baggy and it doesn't have too many decorations. Now I need some pants and a cloak…and some new gloves. _She looked at the half-gloves she was wearing. _At least I'll be able to use these to choose the right size gloves for him. _

Belahn helped her choose a pair of tough, heavyweight medium-blue pants and a hooded cloak of the same light blue as the shirt. The cloak was lined with cream-colored material and had several handy pockets on the inside. _I'd love to get him some more things…but you really can't carry much when you travel without a horse, and if--if he does decide to marry me I'll have a whole wardrobe made for him. _

It never occurred to the princess to buy anything for herself--she had many closets-full at home--but she did look at a lovely pale pink gown and sigh, remembering the one that had had to be sacrificed to rescue Lina and Gourry. She remembered how Zelgadis had looked in it and giggled. 

Belahn surprised her by embracing her lightly as she finished paying for her 'treasures'. "Please do come to visit us, my dear. You've brought us all great joy, and besides, I want to know how your story ends. I feel almost as if you were a daughter to me."

Amelia breathed in the flowery scent of the woman's hair and surprised herself by fiercely returning the hug. Tears threatened to gather in her eyes. _It's been so long since I had a mother…_

With great reluctance, she let go and stepped back to gather up her packages. "I will, ma'am." Her voice was trembling slightly.

The blonde woman's eyes shone with compassion. "Good luck to you, dear." Belahn waved from the opening of the tent as the slightly melancholy princess made her way into the crowd, heading for her chimera.

*

Not for the first time Zelgadis was glad for his enhanced hearing. After making sure that he stood far enough away from the crowd so that no one would accidentally bump into him or pull back his hood, the chimera spent a good twenty minutes listening to the harpists perform. He lost himself in the delicate, intertwining notes that rippled through the air, now like birdsong, then like raindrops, ethereal and intricate and fragile, and yet possessing the same soothing effect of a mountain stream. 

Amelia joined him after she was finished with her shopping. After a few minutes she leaned her shoulder against him as she had at the concert back in Seyrune, and this time, for some reason, he didn't mind.

Amelia had been a little nervous as she approached the chimera, hoping he would not ask to see what the well-wrapped package contained. She took one look at him and forgot her worries; his eyes--the only part of him she could see at the moment--had the same rapt, utterly captivated look that he'd had back in Seyrune during the minstrel's concert. And this time the music was far more exquisite.

The midnight-haired princess felt herself falling under the harpists' enchantment. To her, the music sang of liveliness, of energy, of life, of warmth and safety, of peacefulness, gentleness and most of all, love. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to want to touch Zelgadis, to be close to him, to share all the wonderful emotions she was feeling with the one she loved most in all the world. 

She found herself leaning sideways until the side of her body was pressed against Zelgadis' side, just behind his arm. She waited, sure that he would walk away or tell her to move, but to her surprised delight he only shifted his arm forward a little. She took that as a sign that he accepted her presence. 

Slowly Amelia relaxed, becoming as entranced by the music as her companion. During an especially tender tune she reached out to rest her far hand on the chimera's upper arm, and curled her near arm around his with her hand in the crook of his elbow. Again he did not protest, so the young girl rested her cheek against his shoulder and sighed, completely at peace with the world. 

When the music came to a natural close, Zelgadis took a deep, easy breath and opened his eyes, slowly coming back to the real world. He looked down at Amelia with half-closed eyes, knowing that he should have rejected her embrace, but somehow not wanting to. 

Well, friends can enjoy music together…she's one of the few people I know who enjoys music as much as I do. Another thought crossed his mind. _I wonder if she plays an instrument? She bought me that guiolin, after all… _His gaze softened, a hint of a smile on his lips. 

The young princess did not seem inclined to release him, so he cleared his throat and said quietly, "Amelia."

Unlike the last time, she did not pull away. Instead she tilted her face to look up into his, and smiled up at him with luminous sapphire eyes, murmuring, "That was the loveliest thing I have ever heard."

Her eyes were shimmering pools of emotion, and suddenly Zelgadis found himself caught by them, intrigued by the passion he saw in them. He wanted to learn more, to explore those fascinating ultramarine depths… "Yes…lovely," he repeated slowly. 

When she blinked up at him curiously, the stone man realized that he had been staring at her, entranced, for at least a minute. A pink tinge spread itself across his nose and cheeks as he withdrew his arm from her grasp. "We really should start heading back--by the sun, it's been almost an hour." He reached down to collect the packages at their feet and headed off in the direction of Rilloban's kiosk.

Amelia sighed and followed him. _At least he let me touch him. He never would have, a few weeks ago. And the look in his eyes… _

Amelia looked wistfully at the displays nearby but walked steadily along beside her companion--until something caught her eye. "Wait, Mister Zelgadis! Look at those." 

The young girl approached a small kiosk which had stone carvings of every shape and size. She was staring at a row of little stone swordsmen, each in a different pose, each carved from a different kind of rock. No two were alike. Her eyes moved over tans and blacks and reds and grays. Some were white or green marble, others were almost pink. 

"Oh!" Amelia exclaimed and reached out to gently touch a small figure of a swordsman. It had been carved from an unusual white-streaked dark blue stone and was about two inches high. She looked at the old man who sat on a stool behind the kiosk and asked, "May I?"

"Of course, my dear," he answered. She set her packages down and held out her gloved hand to take the figure from the man as he handed it to her. 

It had been well-polished; it was smooth and heavy and felt good in her hands. She noticed that the little carved man had one fist against his heart, as if promising his eternal love to his lady. "I'll take him," she said immediately, giving in to the urge to run her fingertips over the little man's face, remembering another stone face she had touched before, briefly.

The raven-haired princess set the figure down on the counter and reached for her fuzzy pink waist-pouch, withdrawing a small silver coin. She had used regular money for everything (except Sunshine) all day so as not to attract attention. She hesitated for a moment, then slipped the figure into her waist-pouch instead of into one of her packages.

Amelia looked up to see Zelgadis watching her, his face expressionless. She realized what she had said--'I'll take _him'_--and blushed, smiling sheepishly at her companion.

************************************************************

****

Author's Notes: The stone swordsman that Amelia bought is carved from a type of stone that I like called sodalite. It comes in many colors, most commonly blue; sometimes parts of it are even iridescent, (although then it is usually called lapis). Usually the blue is dark to medium in shade (think blue jeans--brand new versus stonewashed) with lovely ripples of white marbling in it. It's often sold in stores that sell tumbled minerals/rocks.

Notice how Zelgadis and Amelia appreciate the music differently--he, being more logical-minded, notices the technical aspects and how they resemble things in nature, and she, more emotional, perceives the emotions the music conveys. (Yes, I have read some books on psycology, ^__^ particularly personality profiles, which another Slayers fan named Astra got me into. It's fascinating stuff.)

The whole 'kiosk' scene is based on my memories of a trip to King Richard's Faire in Massachusetts the year before last. They had craftsmen of all kinds, like professional sword-makers and a shop selling all kinds of things made from leather--stuff I never even thought could be made from leather, like certain tools that you'd assume had to be made from stronger materials. The jousting tournament was also very cool, even though you couldn't understand half of what they were saying since it was all 'authentic' so there were no microphones. The horses were close enough to kick dust on you when they ran past, since we were only sitting on the damp grass on the other side of a rope. 

As far as getting pic of Zelgadis being affectionate, **Ryo Hoshi and GetitCJC **both mention the scene at the end of Next where Amelia is killed (sort of) and yes, I agree that's the strongest indication we ever see in person of Zelgadis' feelings for her--though indirectly I think the end of Try with Amelia's bracelet on the strap of his canteen is even more of an intention of his feelings--but he has the wrong facial expressions for the scene I'm trying to picture/write.

__

But guess what?!** Claudia22 **has the very pic I've been looking for! The address is 

e--and Zanne, (one of the best Zel/Amelia-in-love artists I've ever seen) who has several of her pics there, has even drawn a couple of pics based on my little fic! There's a very beautiful Shiran one that I recommend you all look at and then ask her for more! ^__~

Happy Holidays, minna-san! ^__^

Dreamsinger


	54. Chapter 54: Soft Words, Gentle Touches,...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing really descriptive. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie! 

****

PG-13 for minor swearing and lime-i-ness..

Note: Kembri--kemm-bree-- the 'e' in the first syllable as in 'pen'

Dahri--DAH-ree

****

Chapter Fifty-Four: Soft Words, Gentle Touches, Tender Sighs //

Kembri

As the princess and the chimera approached the lamb kiosk, Rilloban reported that the healer had not yet arrived, but that he was happy to be able to introduce them to his sweetheart, Kembri. 

At first glance the young girl reminded Zelgadis of Sylphiel. She had the same very long straight black hair with two long narrow sections in front of her ears, although her highlights were an unusual purple color, and her eyes violet. She was slightly shorter than Amelia, perhaps a year or so younger, and had a slender, almost fragile look about her. 

"Thank you so much, Miss Amelia," the girl said softly, bowing deeply so that her shining dark knee-length hair touched the grass. She wore a very conservative dress of palest pink with lavender and pale blue flowers over one shoulder. "Ril-sama has told me how much you helped him to save Shiran's life, and also of your fiance's terrible curse. I truly hope Healer Dahri will be able to help you."

__

Fiance? Zelgadis threw Amelia a glance of mingled shock and anger. She winced and put a hand behind her head, laughing in an embarrassed manner and looking sheepish. 

Kembri rose gracefully from her bow and looked back and forth between the two companions with wide, solemn eyes. Her face did not change expression, but her violet eyes seemed to quiver slightly in her small face, as if she was listening to something in the air. After a few moments she said in her soft voice, "Miss Amelia, would you like to come with me and wash up? The sun has been very warm today--you must be very hot and thirsty." 

"Uh-sure!" 

Zelgadis watched her hurry away with the long-haired girl, scowling like a thundercloud. _How many other people did she tell that I was her fiance? Since when don't _I _get a vote?_

*

"I asked you to do _WHAT?"_

Gourry reeled backward from the force of Lina's shout, his hair flying out behind him like a flag. "Uh, marry me?" he answered nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, his expression disconcerted. "Did you forget, Lina? When we were in that cold, dark cell that Ponmar's men threw us into? Where you got so sick and I held you in my lap and took care of you and you asked me to marry you? Remember?"

The swordsman was suddenly worried, afraid that he'd gotten it wrong, that they really weren't going to be married, that she was going to say it had never happened or that he had heard her wrong or something. "Lina, you do remember, don't you?" He waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Lina? You okay?" 

She didn't move, didn't speak. Gourry took a closer look and noticed that her face was completely empty of expression except for her eyes, which were huge and unfocused, as if she was in a trance. He felt a pang of concern for her, but she was still breathing, so he figured that she was probably thinking. _I guess she did forget. I did too, off and on, since we never really talked about it after it happened. _His forehead wrinkled with worry lines. _Suppose she's decided she doesn't _want_ to marry me? Lina's an impulsive girl--maybe she didn't mean it. _

He waited anxiously for nearly a minute before the young sorceress said softly, "I thought…I thought it was a dream. I was feverish and half-asleep a lot of the time…but I remember you--singing to me." 

Her words came slowly, as though pulled from the hidden depths of her mind. "A happy song, about animals, I think…and…I _do_ remember proposing to you. But out of everything that happened back then, that was the weirdest, so I thought it must've been just another dream," she murmured, her face turned up to the azure sky, though her eyes remained unfocused.

Gourry shook his head gently. "It wasn't a dream, Lina," he said softly. 

Slowly her gaze turned to meet his, her expression still uncharacteristically solemn. "Then…why didn't you say anything about it sooner?"

He felt his mouth drop open in surprise. "Why didn't _I_… Well, for starters, you've been telling me not to talk about romance since the beginning--" He caught the beginnings of a scowl on her face and hurriedly continued, "And besides, I thought you should be the one to decide where we go from here."

He breathed an unconscious sigh as he watched her anger fade, to be replaced by curiosity. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

The tall swordsman hesitated, trying for once in his life to choose his words with care. "You've…had a hard life," he said kindly, trying to put into words something that he had only understood by intuition in the past. "You try to hide it--and you do a good job most of the time. But even though you try to act carefree, even though you fight like a warrior, even though you have enough power inside you to blow this whole world to pieces…you're still just a young girl who's never been with a man." 

He gazed down at her solemnly, watching the breeze play with shining strands of her red hair. Her expression was unreadable, but at least she didn't look angry, so he continued, "I didn't think you'd appreciate it if I, uh, tried anything without asking. And I sort of couldn't ask, either, since we haven't exactly been alone together since the cell, and you were too sick then." One hand went behind his head as he assumed a sheepish look. "Actually, I sort of forgot all about you proposing to me, what with you being sick, and then us getting sprung and all of us traveling and all…"

As the swordsman spoke, he watched her face, trying to gauge by her reactions whether or not it was safe to continue. He saw that she was really listening to him. She had looked startled and uncomfortable when he'd talked about 'trying something', but surprisingly, not angry.

In fact, the look she turned upon him now was unexpectedly tender. "So…that's why you haven't said anything about us? You were waiting for me?" she asked softly, a note of wonder in her voice. He nodded, watching her vivid ruby eyes shimmer with emotion in her small face. 

He felt his insides melting. _Oh, Lina. _He felt himself responding to the open adoration in her eyes, and gazed lovingly back at her, wanting her to see just how much he cared for her without having to use clumsy words. 

Slowly, hesitantly, she smiled up at him, a shy young girl's smile, not the wicked grin of the dynamic sorceress. "Gourry," she murmured, her voice a mere sigh. 

He smiled back at her warmly, liking the sound of his name being spoken like that. The word itself was almost a caress. "Lina," he responded ardently in a low voice, putting all of his love for her into that one word. 

One of her hands began to move, tentatively lifting toward his face. He held still, his eyes never leaving hers, giving her a tender smile to show her that he welcomed her touch. As her fingertips grazed his cheek, he leaned into her hand a little, letting out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding in a sigh of contentment. With a smile of pure pleasure he slid his cheek down into her palm, closing his eyes halfway, feeling his breath start to come faster. "Lina," he said again. "My Lina." 

Oddly enough, the petite sorceress felt no ire at being referred to in such a proprietory way. Instead a delicious feeling of warmth began to spread through her body and she whispered back, "My Gourry," in a slightly husky voice, not caring how sappy she must sound. The only audience they had was the dragonwolf Shiran, who was resting nearby in the grass, not paying them much attention other than an occasional glance. 

Gourry's skin felt warm and smooth under her hand except for a slight roughness in places where his beard grew. Not that he had much of a beard, being so fair-haired--Lina knew he didn't have to shave very often. Unconsciously wanting to feel the differences in texture, Lina slid her fingers down over his chin and across his other cheek, which changed from smooth to apricot-fuzzy depending on where her fingers touched. She let her fingertips brush over his upper lip, liking the feel of the fine--almost nonexistent--blond hairs bending under the sweep of her fingers. 

Idly, she let her fingers slide down over his lips. He startled her by inhaling quickly, his eyes wide. Instinctively she pulled her hand back, her fingers curled as if to hide something shameful. Gourry's hand shot out and caught hers gently but firmly in the air just in front of his chest as his eyes bored into hers with a look she had never seen in them before, but nonetheless recognized instantly. 

__

He wants me. The realization caused her already rapid heartbeat to race, sending a spurt of adrenalin burning through her nerves. Her breathing sped up, and a kind of excitement she had never felt before grew within her, fighting for dominance with an equally powerful spike of alarm. She tried to look away, but was held by the magnetism of his blue eyes. She wanted to pull back, and yet she yearned to move closer, to feel him put his arms around her. She was very conscious of the warmth of the large hand that held hers, even through her glove, making her realize that her own hands were cold and a little sweaty. 

Somehow Gourry seemed to understand her inner conflict. She could see how much he wanted her, but instead of reaching for her he relaxed his grip on her hand, holding it loosely as if to show her she could reclaim it if she wanted to. Reassured, though her heart was still pounding, the young sorceress waited, wanting to know what he would do next. His eyes still held hers as he began to move his thumb against her palm in slow, even strokes. Her sense of touch was muted somewhat by the fabric of her glove, but still she was almost immobile, focusing every fiber of her being on the gentle caress of the man she loved. 

As the tense moment passed, the heat in Gourry's eyes dimmed slightly and he smiled at her reassuringly. She smiled back, feeling foolish but relieved to see that her Gourry was still in there, and had not been replaced or taken over by the incredibly alluring man who had looked at her in a way the old Gourry never had. _What am I getting scared of? It's just Gourry, _she told herself. _Even if he's never acted this way before, he's still Gourry, my Gourry. _

Fascinated, she watched as he slowly brought her gloved hand up to his lips and kissed her palm. She pulled in a breath and held it as a shiver of excitement rose again within her. His eyes never left hers, as if he wasn't sure how she would react, and she smiled at him tenderly, touched that he was obviously doing everything he could to keep from frightening her. She curled her fingers around his to show him she wasn't offended, and he responded with the most tender smile she had ever seen, so beautiful that it made her heart lurch in her chest. "Gourry," she whispered huskily, "I love you so much!" 

She was caught up in a surge of emotion, wanting to throw herself into his arms and kiss him and…

He was looking at her with a strange, serious expression, almost one of pain. "What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"Nothing," he answered after a long pause, his face relaxing into a more natural smile. "I just really like it when you say you love me. There were times when I doubted I'd ever get to hear you say that to me…"

"Oh, Gourry," she murmured affectionately, touched by his confession. They looked at each other in silence for several moments, with her small hand still held within his much larger one, before Lina noticed the lingering sadness in his eyes and decided to do something about it. Twisting her hand out of his grasp, she reached up to slide both of her hands over his cheeks and pull his face down to hers. 

She caught a glimpse of the surprise in his eyes just before their lips met. Automatically she closed her eyes, focusing on the sensation of his lips against hers. They were warm and soft and firm all at once. After a moment, they took on a life of their own as he began to kiss back. 

Kissing Gourry was exciting, as exciting as fighting in battle, but different. Then she felt his hands press against her back, and she sighed contentedly against his lips, enjoying the flooding feelings of warmth and closeness and security. _This is what I wanted,_ she thought vaguely, remembering her earlier frustration about not knowing where she stood with the blonde swordsman. _I just want to get used to touching him and having him touch me without the pressure of…that. It's good Gourry understands how I feel. I'm really lucky I met someone like him…_

Shiran opened one eye to watch the kissing couple, then closed it and sighed, relaxing into a dozing state. She had seen many human couples similarly occupied and knew that they would not be going anywhere for a while. 

*

Amelia splashed her face several times with cool water from a basin Kembri provided as they stood in the kitchen of a nearby house. The smaller girl had assured Amelia that the owner was a friend of hers and would not mind if they used the sink-pump to get some water. When she was through washing, Kembri handed her a towel and she dried her face, sighing deeply. 

"Is something wrong, Miss Amelia?" 

Her lower lip trembled, and the dark-haired princess pressed the rough cotton towel to her face for several seconds. _I will not cry. I have to stop crying so much--it embarrasses Mister Zelgadis--oh, Mister Zelgadis, I'm sorry! That time Ril and I talked about who we liked--I didn't mean to imply that you and I were…_

"Miss Amelia?" She felt Kembri's hands gently touch her shoulders, and realized that she was standing hunched over as if to protect herself from a blow. 

"I'm all right." Her voice was muffled by the towel. Slowly she lifted it away from her face and looked up at the younger girl, who was staring back with concerned curiosity in her violet eyes. "It's just…" she sighed again, "The last time I was here, I had a conversation with Ril about the people we were in love with. He assumed Mister Zelgadis and I were engaged, and he said something like, 'if Zelgadis had the courage to propose to you, even while cursed, then I should be able to talk to Kembri'. I didn't tell him he was wrong because I didn't see any harm in it--and I was hoping he really would tell you how he felt about you. He's such a sweet, charming boy--he deserves to be happy."

Slowly a gentle smile grew on Kembri's delicate face and she put one hand to her cheek as her eyes unfocused. "Oh, he is sweet. And gentle, and handsome…" 

Suddenly she blinked at Amelia and her expression turned grateful. She reached out and took Amelia's hands into her own small ones. "I am glad you did not tell, even though your friend is angry at you now. If not for you, Ril-sama would probably still be just one of my neighbors, nothing more. But now--I have never been so happy. You see, my father, Gerrik, has always been very protective of me, ever since my mother died. Never would he allow any boys to court me…and I was not even allowed to leave our farm unless he was with me. And he is…not very good with people…"

Amelia smiled and gently squeezed her new friend's hands. "I know. I met him--he's not exactly what you would call 'friendly'. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that a lot of people are scared of him--including all the boys." She let go and gave Kembri a mischievous look. 

A pale pink blush appeared over the younger girl's nose. "Yes, well, after the hunt--that is, when you and Ril-sama and my father went out to catch Shiran…well, I believe your spell helped my father understand some things about himself. He had missed my mother so terribly, though I myself barely remember her, and he tried to close off that pain for so long…but your spell eased the pain and let him remember what it was like to love freely, without fear. I think he finally realized that he was as lonely as I, even though neither of us really knew it until then."

"Mm?" Amelia gave her a puzzled look.

"I did not know any other way of life until Ril-sama began to visit me. I was surprised when my father did not order him to leave. I think he had been impressed by Ril-sama during the hunt, and so he did not object--well, not as much as he used to--when Ril-sama began courting me." She gave Amelia a smile of pure joy, her violet eyes shining. "Now I think about Ril-sama all the time. I love to cook him his favorite foods, and ride our horses together in the forest, and watch the way his face lights up when he smiles…"

"That's just how I feel about Mister Zelgadis." Amelia gave her new friend a dreamy look. "Not that he smiles very much, but that just makes the times he does even more precious. I want to do everything I can to make him happy."

Kembri nodded in agreement. "My father seems happier than he used to. He goes to town more often now just to visit people, instead of only when we need supplies. I am hoping--" She stopped and put her hands to her cheeks, blushing cutely.

Amelia remembered Kembri's earlier comment about her father being 'lonely'. "You hope he might meet a nice woman and fall in love?" 

Kembri nodded, smiling shyly. Amelia laughed in delight and impulsively reached out to hug the younger girl. _She's so cute! Like a little sister… _She let go and beamed at the long-haired girl, who had a look of almost-worship on her delicate features. 

Kembri clasped her hands in front of her and said earnestly, "Miss Amelia…I am so glad I met you. I have never known anyone who understands me so well. I am sorry for your misunderstanding with Mister Zelgadis, but I am also very glad. I wish…you could stay here."

Amelia felt a twinge of regret. "Me, too. I always hate to leave when I've made new friends, but I'm needed at home." Both girls looked sad for a moment, then Amelia shrugged her shoulders and added positively, "Anyway, if Seyrune begins trading with Tollik, I'll have an excuse to come back here and visit." She gave Kembri an encouraging grin, and the younger girl smiled back. 

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Author's Note: Just an idle comment; I used the word 'apricot' instead of 'peach' when I mentioned Gourry's beard because in my experience apricots have slightly longer and more noticeable fuzz. Try one sometime--they taste very much like peaches. Even the canned ones are good. 

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	55. Chapter FiftyFive: Kembri's Offer ,, My...

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Only Stone on the Outside

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a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. PG for minor swearing.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

Note: pronounce Dahri--Dah-ree

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Chapter Fifty-Five: Kembri's Offer //

My Lina

It only took a few minutes for the hot, dusty princess drink and splash her face with water, and soon both girls were on their way back to the festival. "Miss Amelia?" The raven-haired princess gave the smaller girl a questioning glance. Kembri asked, "What are you going to do about Mister Zelgadis?"

Amelia grimaced. "Well, first I have to set Ril straight about the whole 'fiance' misunderstanding, and then I'm going to apologize to Mister Zelgadis and hope he forgives me." She bit her lip. "Sometimes he holds grudges, though. Like Rezo…" 

Kembri turned curious violet eyes on her friend. "Isn't Mister Zelgadis a nice man?"

Amelia gave her a thoughtful look. "Well, it's not so much that he's nice, exactly… He's a little too serious, maybe, but he's also very brave and honorable, really smart and handsome--"

The long-haired girl beside her blinked. "Handsome? I thought--Ril-sama told me Mister Zelgadis had a horrible, disfiguring curse put on him."

"Well, Sir Rezo did put a spell on him, but it's not horrible. At least, _I_ don't think he looks ugly…" Amelia used the gesture she had unconsciously picked up from Zelgadis, rubbing her chin with the side of her forefinger as she reminisced. "Maybe I did at first…but I got used to him, and when I fell in love I realized that the things that make him look different also make him look special--like nobody else. His ears, especially, are just the cutest things…" 

Kembri smiled at her new friend's enthusiasm. Amelia grinned at her and added, "Maybe he'll let you see him without his mask--see, he's afraid that if people see him they'll think he's a demon and attack him." Her grin faded. "I wish I could tell him he's worrying over nothing, but things like that _have_ happened to us in the past. I just wish people could get along--when will they learn that there's nothing wrong with being different!" Her voice had lifted into the strident tone of a justice speech.

"I know." Kembri's soft voice reflected her woe. "Ril-sama is ashamed of his stutter, even though I think it makes him sound charming. He told me he used to get teased a lot when he was little, and that even now some people scorn him, or treat him as if he is not very intelligent."

The girls shared a look of understanding. "Do your parents hate Mister Zelgadis?" Kembri asked.

"No. I don't have a mother, like you-" Amelia saw surprise and a flash of delight in Kembri's eyes at the discovery of yet another thing they had in common, even one so sad, "-but my daddy really likes him. Mister Zelgadis has helped Miss Lina save Seyrune more than once, so he's definitely a good guy in Daddy's eyes." She suffered a pang of homesickness. _I wish I could go home and ask Daddy to make everything better. _

She was surprised when Kembri touched her hand and gave her a look of sympathy. "You sound like you love your father very much."

She nodded, feeling a tightness in her chest. "Next to Mister Zelgadis, I love my daddy more than anyone in the whole world." 

Kembri was silent for a few moments, her expression contemplative and her long black hair rippling in the wind. "My father, Gerrik, also loves me very much. He has always been the kindest of men with me, even though to the rest of the village he is surly and belligerent. He has done his best to take care of me, even though he knew nothing about raising a little girl, and I have always felt safe and protected." 

She turned her large violet eyes up to the distant blue sky. "But now I am old enough to want…the kinds of things he cannot give me. And because now I understand such things, I also wish that he could have them. Someone to love, as I love Ril-sama…" She smiled dreamily. "I want to be with Ril-sama all the time. I want to learn everything about him…" 

Amelia smiled as well, although hers was tinged with sadness. "I know just what you mean. I feel the same way about Mister Zelgadis. I want to know him so much, but he almost never opens up… I've known him for years, but I only recently learned that he loves music." She sighed. "He's a mystery…sometimes I feel as if I know him better than myself, and sometimes I feel like I don't know him at all. It's so hard to get close to him sometimes; he acts as if he doesn't need anybody, but sometimes I get this feeling that he really needs someone." 

The young princess leaped up and struck a dramatic pose with her hands clasped over her heart, one booted foot on a nearby rock and a look of rapture in her big blue eyes. "I believe that underneath that cold stone shell he's desperate for someone to care about him, to love him, to want him…" Her voice trailed away as she noticed her new friend staring at her with wide, unblinking eyes in an otherwise expressionless face. She dropped her hands and stood up normally, clearing her throat and adjusting her clothing before continuing to follow Kembri.

The violet-eyed girl tilted her head to the side and suggested, "Perhaps I can use my powers to try to see how he feels about you." 

Amelia gave her a surprised look. "Powers?" 

The younger girl nodded. "Yes--I have powers similar to our healer's. I just became her apprentice not long ago. My father would never hear of it before--you see, I inherited my abilities from my mother, who was a very sensitive, delicate woman, and he is afraid that I will overextend myself, as she did. But her powers were those of healing, whereas my own appear to be focused more on clairvoyance and divination, according to Healer Dahri, she who became my sensei." 

She sighed deeply, clasping her hands together in front of her, her expression so mournful that Amelia wanted to hug her to cheer her up. Kembri continued, "Father has always tried to shield me, but I have always wanted to help people, and as I grew older this caused the only serious disagreement we have ever had. After the hunt, Ril-sama managed to convince my father to allow it. He said that I would be more likely to cause harm to myself if I did not know how to control my abilities."  


Amelia said slowly, "So you can read people's minds?"

Kembri hesitated. "Well, I am just learning how to harness my 'feelings', so I am not very good yet. Healer Dahri has shown me how to read auras. I seem to have a talent for reading emotions."

"Empathic." Amelia remembered that words from one of her childhood magic lessons.

"Yes," Kembri agreed. "Many people have nothing physically wrong with them, yet I can sense that they suffer greatly. Sometimes they themselves do not even know that they suffer. My father used to be…a broken man." She lifted a thin, delicate hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "With no training, there was little I could do for him except to be there for him, to cheer him and encourage him in moments of despair. It has taken much time, but he is nearly well now."

"I'm glad." Amelia couldn't help thinking, _If that rude man is better than he used to be, I don't even want to imagine him any nastier! Poor Kembri!_ Violet eyes met deep blue ones, and Kembri nodded as if she understood Amelia's distaste toward the man, and forgave her for it. Amelia instantly felt ashamed for thinking such a mean thought about her new friend's father. _I wonder if Kembri is reading my emotions right now? _The thought caused a flicker of uneasiness. 

Kembri continued as if nothing had happened. "Healer Dahri has promised to teach me how to heal people who have such maladies of the heart. May I do you the service of reading Mister Zelgadis?"

"No." The word was out of her mouth before she realized that she was going to speak. Kembri gave her a quizzical look. Amelia felt an embarrassed blush burning her cheeks, but she made herself ask, "Isn't it…immoral to read someone's mind without their permission?" 

The younger girl looked solemn. "I cannot read people's minds…only their emotions. And before I became her apprentice, Healer Dahri required me to swear an oath to never use my gifts to harm others. I only wish to help you." Her face wore a curious frown. "Do you believe that it would hurt him if we were to seek to understand Mister Zelgadis' feelings?" 

The princess hesitated, wanting badly to say, 'no', but then she imagined herself as Zelgadis and knew instantly what his reaction would be. "Yes…you see, Mister Zelgadis is a very private person. He would feel terribly violated if you read him without his permission."

"Are you sure?" Kembri's expression displayed her growing dismay. "You may never learn what he truly feels for you. And I could sense something serious troubling Mister Zelgadis as soon as I saw him. He really hurts inside. I want to help him very much. You hurt too, although you hide it better." Amelia jumped at this admission, her eyes widening. The young empath pleaded softly, "Miss Amelia, I would very much like to try to sense what the problem is, to repay you for all you have done for us."

"Ehhh?" Amelia made a sound of surprise, as if to say 'what have I done for you?' 

Kembri nodded. "Shiran has a new home, my father is almost well again, thanks to the calming spell you cast during the hunt, and I have Ril-sama to love me. Will you not let me do what I can to help you?" 

"Does he love me?" The question leaped from her lips before she could stop herself, suddenly desperate to know the answer. Amelia clenched her fists, trembling a little as she waited for the answer. 

Kembri took a step toward her and took one of the princess' hands in her own. Her little face was full of compassion. "I know he feels something for you, but I did not have enough time to sense more than a hint of it before he became angry with you. It was as if a barrier had been raised, leaving me with only the sense that whatever his feeling for you is, be it positive or negative, it is very powerful. I am not sure, but it may be that his unusual condition provides a natural barrier against others' minds reaching his."

Amelia remembered being told that the chimera's grandfather, Rezo, had controlled his body like a puppet, through mind control. _Maybe Rezo set it up so that only _he _could control Zelgadis. But wait a minute--what about when our ward bracelets connected our minds? Do you suppose they somehow got past the barrier Kembri is sensing? _

"If there's a barrier," she said slowly, "then how did you plan on reading him?"

A band of pink appeared over the younger girl's nose. Her voice was whisper-soft as she answered, "I…was hoping I could sense something if I concentrated hard enough. You are my friend--I want to help you however I can. Do you honestly feel that I would be hurting Mister Zelgadis more than helping him if I sought to discover his true feelings?" 

After a long moment, Amelia nodded. "I know how he would feel if he knew, and I would never want to betray him, or do anything that might hurt him. He's been through so much already…" Her eyes reflected a much older version of herself--the same person Zelgadis had been startled to see just before Amelia had gone into the kidnappers' cave: somber, shadowed, troubled. "I've told him how I feel about him--that's all I can do, right?" she said quietly, her tone wistful.

Kembri's face reflected her unhappiness. "Then we must leave his healing to my sensei. She does not have as much 'empathy' as I have, but she has other powers, and much more experience than I. Perhaps she will know of something that can help."

It occurred to Amelia that Kembri had almost completely ignored Zelgadis' most obvious 'disability', his appearance, in favor of the much more subtle emotional damage his condition had caused. _She's right! _The princess' dark-blue eyes opened wide as complete realization hit home._ It's not enough to just fix his body; his soul is hurt, too. I think I've known it all along… That's why he has such a hard time trusting anyone. Why he never seems able to relax; why he can't let himself love anybody…even me. _

She closed her eyes as a lump came into her throat at the pain her poor chimera had suffered for so long, even as a fierce new resolve took hold inside of her. She closed her hands into fists. _No matter what, even if we don't make it in time for my wedding, even if it takes years, I swear on my honor as a princess of Seyrune that you _will_ have your cure, Zelgadis Greywyrs, no matter _what_ the price! _

*

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My Lina. The blonde swordsman could scarcely believe he wasn't dreaming. 

Only minutes earlier he had been walking with Lina and Shiran to meet up with their friends on the other side of Tollik, with the diminutive sorceress complaining irritably as usual, and yet now he was holding her in his arms, kissing her in a way he had only imagined.

Her kisses were tentative at first, but true to her bold nature she quickly gained confidence, even reaching up to slide her fingers through his hair behind his head to pull him closer. He responded to her newfound ardor, kissing her enthusiastically, and lightly placing his hands on her back. When she didn't shrug him off, he shifted his arms a bit so that she was almost enveloped in his protective embrace, supporting her in case she miss-stepped. 

He had to fight the impulse to crush her to him as hard as he could with his powerful arms, to show her the strength of his feelings, vaguely aware that his armor was in the way and would most likely hurt her and make her mad at him. Instead he contented himself with enjoying her kisses and her ardent response itself, although a part of him still kept expecting her to push him away.

__

This is better than I thought it would be, the young sorceress thought with faint surprise, although most of her mind was occupied with exploring this fascinating new activity. _It's fun, exciting, warm… _She was aware of exactly where Gourry had placed his hands on her back through her clothes, a tingling heat, both soothing and stimulating her sensitive skin. 

She also noticed, with the small portion of her mind that was ever-vigilant against threats, that he was not letting his hands stray into dangerous territory. The realization both reassured and amused her. _Even a jellyfish learns from experience. _

She giggled, causing her companion to lift his head and look down at her with surprised blue eyes. "What's so funny, Lina? Did I tickle you?" 

His innocent question made her laugh again as she gazed up at him affectionately, the shiran-flower he had given her nodding gently at her temple. "No…" She grinned as the thought brought with it some intriguing ideas for future exploits. Gourry's expression was his familiar 'clueless' look, but instead of annoying her as it usually did, it was comforting; Gourry was still Gourry.

She breathed in his masculine scent, remembering it from the time when he had held her close in the dark cell, comforting her, making her feel safe and loved. If not for his armor she would have given in to the impulse to snuggle into his chest, but she had to be satisfied with pulling his head down to hers for another kiss. 

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Author's Note: Kembri has the classic Japanese beauty--in my mind's eye she looks most like Kikyou from Inu Yasha--long long straight black hair (although Kembri's has purple highlights), big dark eyes (Kembri's are that plum-brown color you often see in anime, like Shampoo's eyes in Ranma ½) and a very solemn face that has hidden pain and makes you want to cheer her up. She also has one of those beautiful soft feminine voices that I call 'whispery', like Belldandy in Oh My Goddess or Kasumi from Ranma ½. She calls Rilloban 'Ril-sama' to show that she holds him in great esteem, and yet the nickname 'Ril' shows they're emotionally close--that she loves him. 

Hmm. You'd think Amelia would call Zelgadis 'Zel' sometimes, but she seems to know he likes the respect his full name implies--at least that's the way I see it. He lets Lina call him that because--well, she's Lina. _Not_ highly respectful, with a hair-trigger temper, and because contesting it would only make her more likely to tease him. Of course, he also knows it's a sign of affection. Gourry sometimes refers to Zelgadis by the nickname, but I noticed he only rarely calls him 'Zel' to his face, at least in the anime. 

One other thing I've noticed is some of the more Western customs of Slayers, such as _not_ removing their footwear before entering buildings, and using forks instead of chopsticks. I've read that it's customary to use forks with Western dishes in Japan. As far as the shoes go, I think the only time I've ever seen them in different footwear is at an onsen (hot spring). 

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Claudia22-Thanks again for the link to your Zelgadis screencap that I was looking for! For those of you who want to see that pic, please check my reviews--FF.net doesn't let me put links in my chapters, but I got the link from reading my reviews and copy/pasting, so it should work for you all, I think. Claudia22's review was done on December 15, 2003. 

Speaking of links, **Raven Summersong **suggested the gallery at The Princess and the Chimera. I'm familiar with that site--and Zanne, (one of the best Zel/Amelia-in-love artists I've ever seen) has several of her pics there. I mentioned in my last Author's Note that she also has a lovely one of Shiran, and a few more based on my fic, but again the link didn't come up, so I recommend just doing a search for a site called DeviantArt, in the gallery section, under Zanne.

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Slayers Otaku-Girl--Sylphiel has black hair, but you know how in some ads they change character's hair colors for no particular reason--like on the front of comic books? That's probably where someone saw purple hair. As to how to pronounce 'Gourry'--I say Gowree, but sometimes I think of how they say it in Japanese and so the 'r's in his name sound like 'l's too--I hear both together.   
  
**Minimerc** asked--'how much more time is left until the wedding?' Answer: two weeks 

On an offhand note, if anybody's interested in reading a Christmas story I wrote--just look up the other two stories of mine on FF.net. The one called In Harmony is based on a TV show called Hey Arnold and is short (for me) only two chapters, wherein the two main characters become close as they practice for the school chorus recital. Very sweet, and as in-character as I can make it, so not much lime (they're fourth-graders, so it's like a 'first love' sort of story). The other fic is also Hey Arnold, 12 chapters and much more introspective and dramatic. Both of the received many good reviews, but of course I wouldn't mind a few more… ^__~ 

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Enjoy yourselves, and Happy Holidays, my fellow Dreamers!

Dreamsinger

December 26th, 2003 


	56. Chapter 56: Please Hold Me

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Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG-13 for minor swearing and some lime-i-ness.

****

Chapter Fifty-Six: Please Hold Me 

Lina and Gourry were lost in the void of the here-and-now, lost within each other's arms, lost in the warmth, the closeness, the kissing that both of them had yearned for for so long. They were so completely focused on one another that when Shiran nudged Lina's back with her nose and uttered a quiet whine, they both yelped and pulled away from each other as if they'd been shocked. 

Lina's face was a mix of surprise and guilt, a look which swiftly changed to her more familiar look of annoyance as she glared down at the dragonwolf, who stared back at her calmly with mildly glowing green eyes. "Damn it, Shiran, what are you doing?"

The huge beast gave a low woof, which clearly meant _Enough fooling around, kids. We've got to get moving. _

Lina scowled, then noticed the sun and blinked. "Hey, it's already been half an hour. We've got to get moving or we'll be late, and I do NOT want to listen to any smart remarks from Zelgadis about what might have made us late."

Gourry's face still had a dazed look, as if he hadn't recovered yet from her kisses. She couldn't quite manage to bring herself to get annoyed at him for something like that, so she simply reached out and took his hand in hers. "Come on, Gourry." She set off at a jog across the grassy field to make up for lost time. 

When they arrived at the enormous oak tree that their group had chosen as a meeting place--it had been the easiest landmark to see from the other side of town--Lina was surprised to see that they had apparently arrived first. No cheerful Amelia or impatient Zelgadis met them with questions, sarcastic or otherwise. Lina told her tall companion to stay put while she took a quick look around from above. 

With a Rei-Wing spell, the red-haired sorceress quickly ascertained that no one was in the surrounding forest, barring Shiran, who had followed her the entire time she was airborne, gazing up at her with vivid emerald eyes. From time to time the big dragonwolf had uttered a quick woof, which was obviously meant to say _Come down here! _

"Jeez, you'd think she was my mother or something," Lina complained mildly, amused and a little touched at the animal's obvious concern. "I can see why they call her the ultimate protector--Amelia's going to have a hard time getting into trouble from now on. Hey, I wonder if Shiran would treat Zelgadis like a threat if he tried to kiss Amelia?" 

Her face broke into a wide smirk at the thought as she turned and flew back through the trees to where she had left Gourry. As she did so, a naughty thought crossed her mind._ Well, as long as we have to wait, Gourry and I can take up where we left off… _She didn't finish the thought, her cheeks burning. _It still feels like a dream, like I'll wake up any time now to find out that Gourry never said he loved me. _

Heedless of the danger of flying into the surrounding trees, the red-haired sorceress closed her eyes to remember the feel of his lips on hers. _Warm…so warm. When he's kissing me I can feel how much he loves me. It's the best feeling in the world. And we're just beginning. _Again she blushed, suddenly embarrassed to discover that she was actually looking forward to that time in the future when she would be able to give herself completely to her longtime companion. 

A month ago--heck, an hour_ ago--I would've said 'no way'. If it were anyone else… But with Gourry, I can almost imagine it. _Like most girls, Lina had dreamed of what her wedding--and subsequent wedding night--would be like, but now she smiled at her childish fantasies. _I was planning on marrying a prince. I'd live in a palace and have all the riches I've ever dreamed of. _

Her smile grew affectionate as she spotted her partner as he sat cross-legged in the acorn-strewn grass, waiting patiently under the mighty oak. He was gazing off into the distance, a gentle smile on his lips and a dreamy, faraway look in his sky-blue eyes. She watched him tuck a few strands of long blonde hair away from his cheek, blown there by an errant breeze, and experienced another surge of her newfound desires. She wanted to stroke the same cheek that his hair had caressed, and run her fingers through the shining bright silky hair, combing it in the kind of intimacy that she had only experienced before with other girls--and then not often. _Well, Gourry's no prince, but he'll do. At least he _looks_ like one! _

Impishly she dropped down to land in his lap, laughing mischievously as Gourry yelped in surprise. "Lina! Whoa, you startled me." He shook his head at her antic and smiled as he asked, "Any sign of the others?" 

"Nope. They must've gotten delayed." 

Lina gazed at the swordsman's hair and was about to follow through on her impulse when Shiran approached the young sorceress, who looked up at the huge animal and felt a flicker of uneasiness. The dragonwolf's sheer size was intimidating, causing her to unconsciously lean back against Gourry. Lina was relieved when all Shiran did was sniff her from head to toe and gently nudge her a few times with her wet purple nose as if to reassure herself that Lina was none the worse for wear for her astonishing flight through the sky. 

The redhead smiled broadly and reached up to stroke the thick lavender fur on Shiran's chest, which was as high as she could reach on the large animal. "I'm fine, Shiran. Good girl." 

She was about to get up from Gourry's lap when she noticed how warm her back felt where it rested against his abdomen. It stirred up feelings of security and contentment from the time when they had been locked together in the cold cell, where the only warmth Lina had was from being nestled in his arms. As Shiran settled down in the grass nearby, Lina slowly turned her head to look up over her shoulder at the blonde swordsman. "Um…hey, Gourry?" she asked in a small voice.

"Yeah?" He looked down at her curiously. 

Her voice was softer, more hesitant than usual. "Will you…hold me? Like you did when I was sick?" She could feel her cheeks turning pink as she watched a slow smile spread over Gourry's handsome features. 

"Sure, Lina." His voice held gladness and affection as he moved his hands from where they were bracing the two of them upright in the grass and leaned forward slightly to compensate for the shift in balance. Lina was surprised to feel his stomach muscles moving against her back, sending tingles of excitement through her. It was a delicious feeling, to be so close to him, to finally be able to touch him if she wanted to without worrying about how it would look, or if he would reject her or laugh at her. 

Then his arms closed around her in the same positions they had been in during that long night they'd spent together in the dark, chilly cell, with one over her abdomen, the other on her upper chest above the yellow band that covered her breasts. Almost immediately she could feel his warmth start to soak in, though out of reflex she sat tensely for several moments, still not entirely comfortable with the feeling of confinement, of being held back, restrained. 

Gradually she adjusted to it and relaxed enough to lean back against him, frowning as she noticed his chest armor made him a less-comfortable armchair than the last time. _I'd ask him to remove it, but suppose the others come upon us suddenly? We're taking a chance doing this even now, but this might be our last opportunity for a while. Besides, it's my nature to take chances, _she thought with a smirk. She covered his lower arm with one of her own as she had once done in the cell, sighing as she relaxed into his arms and his love.

Gourry felt as if his heart would burst from happiness. Here he was with Lina Inverse, the most feared sorcery genius in the world cuddled trustingly in his arms, seeming no larger than a child. Never would he have imagined that someone so fierce could feel so tiny, so delicate. It brought back a sudden memory of his first impression of her, that of a small girl who needed to be protected. 

Giving in to his desire to hold her close to him, he closed his eyes and rested his cheek against her soft hair, his breath stirring the red-gold strands, and then pressed a kiss onto the top of her head. He felt her sigh and relax even further, letting him support her full weight as her body molded itself to his. Another surge of joyful love swept through him and he kissed her again, then hugged her a little to try to show her how he felt. Her heard her murmur his name and she returned the squeeze, her hands warm on his arm over her belly. 

Gourry was more than happy to hold her as long as she wanted, but eventually he thought to ask, "Lina, what if the others come?", unknowingly echoing her earlier thoughts. "Do you mind if they see us like this?"

He felt her stiffen, her hands grasping at his arm. "Well…yeah, sort of," she admitted in a small voice.

He nodded agreeably. "Okay. I'll keep an eye out for them." 

There was an awkward pause, then she suddenly blurted out, "It's not that I'm ashamed or anything…I just… Well, Amelia I don't mind so much; she already kind of knew about us, but Zel…and Xellos, especially, they'd say all kinds of things just to tick me off, you know?" 

"Yeah, I figured," Gourry agreed. He felt her relax a little but he could tell something was still bothering her. His intuition told him that she might be feeling guilty about hurting his feelings with her wish for secrecy, although in truth he didn't mind much. After three years as her constant companion, he knew her well enough to know that now that the ice had been broken, it wouldn't take long for her natural boldness to overcome her shyness. He had been patient all this time; he could wait for as long as it took. 

Besides, she was certainly nicer to be around when she wasn't angry. 

Eventually she added, "And it really wouldn't be fair to rub their noses in it, right? Zel and Amelia, I mean." 

"In what?" He had already half-forgotten what they'd been talking about, simply enjoying the sensation of holding her warm, pliant body against him. 

"In the fact that there's nothing really stopping us from, well, being in love, I guess. Whether or not you're right about Zelgadis being in love with Amelia, he can't do anything about it as a chimera." 

"Why not?"

"Jellyfish, how could he even kiss her with stone lips?" Her tone held familiar annoyance, yet because of their body contact he could somehow tell that she wasn't getting ready to hit him for once. "He'd end up hurting her, and both of them would be mortified and…and anyway, I told you her people would never let a chimera rule over them." Something in the tone of her voice made him wonder if she was blushing. 

"Oh, yeah, you did," he agreed. "It's too bad Amelia doesn't have any older brothers or sisters who could rule instead." 

Lina shuddered and he tightened his arms around her, assuming she was cold. "She does have an older sister, the one Zelgadis said ran away from home, remember? Trust me; she's not qualified to rule."

"Oh, have you met her?"

"Yeah. I don't want to talk about it." 

While he was still being puzzled over this--usually Lina talked _too _much; he had never seen her avoid any topic other than that of her sister Luna before--she continued with an edge of anger in her voice, "That's why I can't believe Zel is holding out on us. Either he _doesn't_ love Amelia and is only stringing her along so he doesn't have to listen to her whine all the way back to the palace--" She paused to take a deep breath, "or he _does_ love her and…I just don't get it. What could be so bad about his cure?" 

Gourry tried to soothe her by running his hand along her arm from shoulder to elbow. "Did Zelgadis ever say he actually had a cure? I can't remember." 

Lina paused, and one of her hands came up to cover his. She pulled it away from her arm and curled her fingers around it, holding it as if seeking comfort. "I don't think he did, come to think of it," she answered, her voice calmer now. "But if he doesn't have a cure then he's _still _guilty of stringing her along, no matter what the reason." 

"What does that mean, anyway?" He marveled at how soft and delicate her hand seemed as it rested against his own large calloused one. 

"What, 'stringing her along'? It means…well, lying to her, basically. Pretending he's interested in marrying her when he's not." 

"Oh, he's definitely interested," Gourry avowed. "I'm a guy. I know." A rare flash of inspiration struck. "Hey, I got it, maybe he has a plan for a cure, but he doesn't want to get her hopes up in case it doesn't work out." 

Again Lina went still in his lap as she considered his theory. "You know, you may be on to something. It'd be just like Zel to keep his mouth shut about something like this. But he should at least be asking _us_ for help. We're his best friends. Amelia doesn't have to know."

"Like how they don't have to know about us, huh?" He was pleased at his understanding of the similar situations--usually his conversations with Lina went way over his head. Maybe it was because they were talking about people's feelings, which he understood just fine. "Everybody's keeping secrets lately."

Oops, what did I say? he thought as Lina went all tense in his lap and then turned to look up at him with remorseful ruby eyes. "I _want_ to let other people to see how I feel about you, I really do, but…"

What does that have to do with keeping secrets? Gourry gave her a quizzical look. Then it hit him. She thought he was upset with her for wanting to keep their own relationship a secret.

"That's okay, Lina, I understand," he said kindly, hugging her middle with his free arm and dropping his head down to put his cheek against hers. He put as much warmth into his tone as he could as he continued, "Don't do anything you don't want to do. It's enough for me to know how you really feel about me in your heart." 

"Really?" Her voice sounded very young and unsure. He moved away enough to look into her eyes. They were twin ruby pools of liquid emotion, brimming with love and guilt and hope all at once. 

"Really." He couldn't stand to see her berating herself anymore, so he did the first thing that came to mind--he kissed her. 

She jumped a little, then settled down and began kissing him back. It was hard not to let his hands roam the way they wanted to, with his arms all full of cute girl, but he was still afraid that something might happen to take away everything that had happened between them, that might cause him to lose the progress that had been made. _Later,_ he promised his yearning fingers--and other parts that also yearned.

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Author's Notes: The sister Lina refers to is Naga, of course--and the scene where Zelgadis unthinkingly brings up the fact that she ran away is from an episode in Slayers Next. One of the Seyrune episodes, but I misremember which.

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Guess what? I'm having a contest. In chapter 62 our party will be traveling on a homemade craft through the air. It will look more or less like a flat platform with a shed of some kind attached to the back end as a stall for Sunshine and a little bathroom…maybe a little more detail, but it's basically rather square and blocky, with stiff leather curtains to separate the sleeping/relaxing area from the main one. 

I've decided to let the honor of naming the craft go to you, my loyal readers. I'm curious to see what you come up with! The winner will be mentioned in my author's notes, of course, as well as my using the name itself. 

It's simplest for you all to use reviews to suggest names for this craft. Please try not to send more than four or five names, since the more there are, the longer it'll take for me to decide ^__^ and if two or more people should send me the same name, I'll acknowledge each of them in my notes. 

Now, the name shouldn't be too long, one or two words at most, and nothing vulgar, if you please. Be clever, be creative, and tell me which character you think should be the one who comes up with the name in the story. Me, I'm leaning toward Gourry…he tends to be awfully clever in little unobtrusive ways… 

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	57. Chapter 57: Honesty and Deception

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG-13 for minor swearing and some lime-i-ness..

Note: Dahri is pronounced DA-ree

****

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Honesty and Deception

Zelgadis sat with his back to the bustling, kiosk-lined street on a convenient log, and watched the vibrant rainbow lambs in their pen bleat and graze and run with a sheep's peculiar gambol--leaping first with both front legs, then both back ones. It was mildly entertaining. Amelia's friend Rilloban was sitting cross-legged on the grass facing the chimera.

Zelgadis was not one to make conversation for its own sake, and Rilloban was shy by nature, so the two of them merely sat together in silence. The stone man noticed that he could hear some of the music still being played behind him, thanks to his enhanced hearing. He listened for a few moments, noticing that a flute had been added to the pair of harps--or was it two flutes? He listened, entranced, as the flutes' gentle whispers wove their way through the harps' delicate tune like a satin ribbon through a woman's silky tresses. 

Yet he was too restless to focus properly, wondering how much longer it would take for Amelia to return. Kembri had invited her to 'freshen up' at a nearby neighbor's home, but he suspected that Amelia was using that as an excuse to avoid a confrontation. 

I can't believe she told these people that she and I were engaged. He lifted a bare blue hand to tug petulantly at his hood, checking his mask, making sure his face was securely hidden. _What's the matter with her? When did she get so devious? Is it Lina's influence? Or has she changed even more than I thought? _

He recalled wondering if growing up was changing Amelia for the worse, if she had become someone who broke her word--in most people that would not exactly be a cause for alarm, but the young Amelia whom he had known had been completely forthright. She had always been someone devoted to truth and justice--as childish as the ideals were, he had, in a way, admired her for her dedication. 

Lately, though, he had seen things that had made him doubt her. _This entire journey was set up by the girls to get me cured in time to be Amelia's husband, according to the Oracle. Supposedly because Amelia loves me--or thinks she does. She even said so herself in Ponmar's cave, but…how can I believe her when things like this keep happening? I almost prefer the old Amelia, who used to blurt out embarrassing comments at totally inappropriate moments, to this new one, who keeps secrets and isn't quite whom she appears._

He leaned over with his hands on his knees, putting his face in his hands. _And now this. I can't let her go around telling people we're going to be married, even if she believes it herself. _He sighed deeply._ Maybe part of this is my fault. I've got to stop letting her think that things are going to work out the way she wants them to. Even if I was willing to marry her…_

Unbidden, images from his dream rose before his closed eyes--Amelia as a bride, beaming with joy at her new husband, and then as a mother, with a happy, loving family. He felt again that strange, powerful longing to be a part of it all, to have someone to love him and support him, to be by his side for always, and then a flash of fear made him forcibly shove the emotions away, banishing them behind the remnants of the wall that he had created within himself to keep people out. He did not even recognize the source of the fear, so familiar had it become--the fear of hope itself. 

Maybe it's time I was honest with her. When we leave town I'll just tell her that I can't marry her, and that's that. I will keep the promise I made to go to her ceremony, but then I'll leave. Now that the Barrier's inhibiting power is gone, there must be a White magic cleric somewhere who's powerful enough to bear the touch of Shabranigdo's curse--perhaps this Healer Dahri, though I doubt it, since I've never heard of her before now… Lina will take care of the Shamanistic part--she'd better, after all she's put me through--and she'll make Xellos help us with the rest. And after I'm cured…

He didn't want to think about that just now, and lifted his cloaked head from his hands, forcing his attention back to the music. Maybe it was because unconsciously he did not want to jinx his only hope for a cure, or perhaps he was trying not to picture himself, human at last, but alone. 

He tried to lose himself in the beautiful, peaceful melodies being played, and succeeded for a while before he became aware of Rilloban smiling at him, the young man's deep green eyes crinkling at the corners. "What?" he asked.

"C-can you hear the m-music?" 

Zelgadis blinked. "How can you tell?" 

"I c-can hear bits of it, ev-every now and then. Y-you're n-nodding your head in time, just a little bit." 

"Oh."

The two males looked awkwardly at each other. Neither was particularly good with social skills--usually the females they associated with did most of the talking. It had taken a lot of courage for Rilloban to speak to Amelia the first time she had visited, and then only because he had wanted to save Shiran's life so badly.

As Zelgadis watched, the young man took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders, his expression serious. "M-mister Z-zelgadis, is something wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

He watched Rilloban's expression go from concerned to uncertain. "W-well," the boy stammered, "I-I m-m-mean…" He took a deep breath and shook his golden-brown hair back from his face. "M-miss Amelia is my friend. She saved Shiran's life. And-and if it wasn't for her, I w-wouldn't have Miss Kembri now. You're her f-f-fiance, so if something's bothering you, I w-want to do anything I can to help."

The chimera was moved by the young man's earnest offer of help to a stranger, especially one whose face he hadn't even seen, but Rilloban's last statement touched a nerve. "She's not my fiance."

"Wh-what?"

"She's _not_ my fiance," he repeated, turning his gaze away from the young man, his eyes following a pair of frolicking lambs--one pink, one yellow. "I don't know what she told you, but we're not engaged. Maybe if things had been different--" He cut himself off, almost shocked at how easily the words had come out. 

He lowered his gaze, not wanting to make eye contact. For a long minute Rilloban was silent, while the entrancing beauty of the music continued behind them. Zelgadis could hear the calls of happy children, the chattering of old women, the hearty laughter of farmers as everyone ate sweets and strolled through the kiosks, enjoying the fine weather and each others' company.

"I-I'm s-sorry for the misunderstanding." Rilloban's countenance was contrite. "F-from the way Miss Amelia spoke of you, I g-guess I just assumed you were betrothed. I-it's my fault."

Huh? Zelgadis was startled enough to look up at the young man, watching him put a hand behind his head, his expression sheepish. "W-was it s-supposed to be a secret? Uh…d-d-did you not know she was in love with you?"

Then she didn't lie. Zelgadis felt some of the tension leave him, his shoulders relaxing. He almost smiled under his mask as he answered, "I knew she'd had a crush on me for a long time, but there's never been anything serious between us. She did confess her feelings to me not long ago, so you haven't told me anything I didn't already know." 

Rilloban looked relieved. 

There was another silence between them, as each seemed to retreat into his thoughts. '_If things had been different'… _Zelgadis mused. _I can't believe I said that. Does that mean that I _am_ in love with her? Or just that I'm regretting the choice I have to make, the lost opportunity? _He felt the fingers of gray depression reaching for him and veered his mind from that painful subject, firmly telling himself, _There's nothing to be done now. The decision's been made. Amelia will get along without me, and probably be better off for it. I'm sure there will be plenty of eager men for her to choose from…_

His introspection abruptly halted as he heard Amelia's voice off in the distance. "Well, I really don't know much about him, to tell you the truth. I met him at a ball my daddy arranged to help me meet prospective husbands."

Husbands? The chimera's pointed ears twitched as he focused his attention on the girls' conversation. 

"A real ball?" Kembri's voice had tones of curiosity and awe. "With lovely music and elegant people in beautiful evening clothes?" 

"Mm." Amelia made a sound of agreement. 

"I have always wanted to attend a ball. Just once, to know what is it like." Now the younger girl sounded wistful. 

Zelgadis could hear the smile in Amelia's voice. "Well, maybe the next time we have one, you can come and visit me." 

"Really?" 

"Of course." 

"Thank you, Miss Amelia." There was a short pause, during which Zelgadis imagined a hug was taking place. "I would like that. I have never been farther the nearest villages. Father would never let me travel much. But maybe now he will allow it, if Ril-sama went along to protect me."

Some protection, Zelgadis thought privately._ It would be better if Amelia sent a competent escort/guard instead. But what was that about husbands? _

As if she had heard him, Kembri asked, "So is he nice?" 

"Oh, yes, he's very nice, friendly and well-mannered…in fact, he sort of reminds me of Ril," Amelia answered cheerfully. "He doesn't look anything like Ril, of course, but I think he's cute."

Zelgadis scowled without realizing it. 

"His hair is sort of a chestnut-red color and he has big brown eyes. You know, it's strange, because he actually looks just like--"

"Mmbaaaaaaaa!" Zelgadis jumped as a bright red lamb bleated at him, obviously looking for attention. 

"Quiet!" spluttered the flustered chimera, trying to gather together the shreds of his composure as the two girls came around the corner of the lambs' kiosk. 

Amelia chose a suitor? How come no one mentioned this to me? I thought she wanted to marry me! _The Oracle said so. _He was both shocked and insulted to discover that he had a rival. 

Zelgadis found his hands clenched into fists at the thought as he watched Amelia approach and bow deeply, her face embarrassed and contrite. "I'm sorry, Mister Zelgadis. You too, Ril. I didn't mean to mislead you."

His narrowed eyes opened wide from surprise. _Is she going to tell me about her other suitor? But why is she apologizing to Rilloban, too?_

She continued, "Mister Zelgadis and I aren't fiances--I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. At the time, I was thinking that it couldn't do any harm, and might give you the courage you needed to talk to Kembri."

The stone man watched Rilloban smile at her. "N-no harm done. Y-you were r-right. It did help me." The young man's eyes turned to meet Zelgadis', and he continued, "Mister Z-zelgadis and I already t-talked about it."

"You did?" It was Amelia's turn to look surprised. She turned to look at him, her eyes searching what little she could see of his face past the mask. He didn't look angry, but he didn't look glad, either. His stare was cold, unblinking. She shivered. _I guess he hasn't forgiven me. _

Her expression showed her distress. As always, the chimera felt a twinge of conscience at being the cause of her pain, but he sternly reminded himself that Amelia was still being deceitful. _She has a suitor…what else is she hiding from me? _

Rilloban stood up from the grass and went to greet Kembri, covering one of her hands with his and looking into her eyes, a slow, lovesick smile spreading over his face. She seemed equally captivated, staring into his eyes in adoration for several moments before looking away with a 

little flush over her nose. 

Amelia watched them with wide eyes, suddenly very glad of her part in getting them together, and wished she dared take Zelgadis' hand in hers.

The young lovers turned to face the travelers, still holding hands, and Kembri tilted her head to 

one side, commenting, "I believe I sense Healer Dahri's return. If you come with me, I will 

introduce you to her."

"Fine. Let's go," Zelgadis said in a cool, precise tone. He stood up and strode away, trying not to let his irritation show. 

The others followed him as he strode through the crowd toward the healer's kiosk. He became aware that the townspeople were giving him the same sort of nervous, suspicious glances that he was used to receiving when he wasn't wearing his hood and mask, and he realized that his body language was practically radiating anger. 

He tried to calm down. _It shouldn't be that much of a surprise that she had to choose a suitor…and she'd be the type who would be swayed by a…handsome face and a friendly manner--she's still so much a child. But to marry someone she barely knows? Even _she_ isn't that impulsive--is she? Or is there more to this story? _

As he approached the healer's kiosk, a tall woman with ankle-length silver-blue hair turned to face him. She wore a royal-blue outfit similar to the cleric's uniform Sylphiel wore, trimmed in white. Her face was young and very beautiful, with large eyes of the most vivid shade of brown Zelgadis had ever seen. 

Amelia took her place by Zelgadis' side, her mouth opening a little in surprise as she took in the woman's appearance. The healer's pupils, instead of being black, were merely a darker shade of brown, which gave the brief impression that she was blind. It was very obvious that she could see, though, judging by the calm, measuring look she gave each of the travelers in turn. 

Kembri stepped forward and made the introductions. The healer did not seem at all disconcerted to be meeting the princess of Seyrune, but when Zelgadis was introduced she tipped her head to the side and studied his masked form.

"I will do what I can." Her voice was calm, almost detached, as if only a part of her was living on this plane of existence. "Please come inside."

Zelgadis followed her into the enclosed portion at the back of the kiosk. Amelia made as if to follow, but Kembri held her back, shaking her head 'no'. Amelia bit her lip and turned away.

It was cool and shady inside the tent. The only furnishings for this temporary domicile were a cabinet with medicinal supplies, a pitcher of water on a small stand, and a long, unusually high table. The healer gestured to the table. "Lie down and remove your cloak, please."

The chimera fought with a twinge of reflexive fear that warned him never to put himself in a vulnerable position around strangers, and did as she said, also removing his mask. Clad only in his pale tan shirt and pants, he looked smaller, thinner, more vulnerable. He saw the healer's unusual eyes go to Amelia's ward bracelet on his canteen and had an impulse to cover it with his hand. 

She glanced back at him, but did not say anything about the ward. He felt a little foolish, wondering if she had sensed his impulse, but she only asked him to lie still. "I will study your curse and then tell you what may be done to counter it." 

He watched as she held her arms out above him, noting idly that she seemed to have much the same womanly proportions as Sylphiel. Her breathing seemed to slow and her face lost all expression.

She did not move for several minutes, causing Zelgadis to relax somewhat when nothing happened. Her eyes were closed, so he felt free to study her appearance. Her long silver-blue hair flowed down her back and legs like liquid silk, sliding easily over the deep blue-purple of her form-fitting coat. The collar lapels and sleeves were edged in white. A thin belt of silver links encircled her slender waist, emphasizing her womanly curves while providing something from which to hang various pouches of what Zelgadis supposed were healing herbs. 

Unconsciously, his tension eased as he rested safely inside the tent, away from curious eyes. After a while she slowly lowered her arms, and he realized that he was nearly asleep. Dahri had been so still and silent that she had been more like statue than a living person--he'd let his guard down, which was perhaps what she'd wanted. It was undoubtedly easier to read him that way, but the thought itself made him stiffen. 

As if on cue, the luminous chestnut eyes opened and he froze, having forgotten their intensity. Her expression remained enigmatic, but somehow Zelgadis knew she was troubled. She was silent for a long moment, and then said quietly, "Let us return to your friends." 

The stone man donned his cloak and mask, pulling the hood securely over his wire hair. Dahri went out first and he followed her out into the daylight. His hood shaded his eyes somewhat, but he still had to squint at first as his eyes adjusted somewhat painfully to the vividness of the light. 

Amelia and the others were sitting together on the grass. Zelgadis couldn't help but notice how pretty Amelia looked as her face lit up at the sight of him. Her sparkling smile almost outshone the sun's brilliance as she scrambled to her feet and asked excitedly, "How did it go? Did it hurt? Did Miss Dahri find out how to cure you?" 

He answered the last question. "I don't know yet." He turned to look meaningfully at the healer. Dahri gazed back, her expression inscrutable as usual, but an aura of almost tangible regret emanated from her. He was not the only one who sensed what her answer would be. 

"What is it, Miss Dahri?" Kembri asked, her small face clouding over. They were all silent, waiting with identical expressions of concerned anxiety, except for Zelgadis, of course. Amelia had her hands clasped under her chin as her large deep blue eyes shimmered.

Slowly the healer answered, "The curse which has been placed upon you is the most powerful, stable, and complex spell of its kind that I have ever sensed. An extremely formidable being must have cast it." 

"My grandfather." Zelgadis' voice was quiet. "He was possessed by a shard of Lord Shabranigdo." 

Kembri's hands went up to cover her mouth, the horror in her violet eyes matching that in 

Rilloban's deep green ones. Dahri merely nodded, as if Zelgadis' answer had confirmed her own assumption. 

Amelia clenched her fists at her sides. "Can you break it?"

Of course not, Zelgadis thought pessimistically. 

The healer hesitated for a long moment before replying, "Perhaps."

Huh? The stone man's eyes widened in surprise. 

"Really?" Amelia looked ready to start celebrating. 

Dahri continued, "But I would have to study it carefully, slowly, to discover how the different strands interweave, for each aspect of the spell must be addressed."

The princess looked thoughtful. "You mean the human part, the demon part and the um, the golem part?"

"Yes." Dahri nodded. "The solution would not be soon in coming."

Zelgadis watched Amelia exchange stricken glances with Kembri, who swallowed and whispered, "How…how long, Mistress?" 

"Several months. Perhaps a year."

Dahri's gaze was somber as if she sensed how bitterly disappointed Amelia was. Perhaps, considering her abilities, she had. Zelgadis felt a pang in his own chest as Amelia's face seemed to crumple and she turned away with a sound like a choked sob. 

He concentrated on keeping his own face impassive. He hadn't really expected a cure from a village healer, no matter how powerful; the Oracle hadn't mentioned her, after all. _Still, she seems to know a lot about curses. I sense there's a lot more going on under the surface than she's saying. Maybe I should return here after I see Amelia safely to her home and enlist her help in using the Oracle's cure. _The thought gave him some hope, lightening the burden on his shoulders.

Kembri had moved closer to Rilloban and leaned against him, and he had put a comforting arm around her waist. Now she moved away and approached Amelia, who had turned her back to the group. She put out a hesitant hand toward the princess' back. "Miss Amelia?"

Zelgadis thought that Amelia would probably throw herself into the other girl's arms and start wailing, but again she surprised him. With an impressive display of control, she squared her shoulders and turned around, her face set into a rigid, unsmiling mask, but there was no trace of tears. She did not speak, or look at Zelgadis.

Dahri looked back and forth between the two, her face showing traces of distress. Slowly she said, "I am sensing other barriers in your path to your cure."

All eyes turned to her. "What barriers?" Zelgadis asked.

"Emotions…" Her tone was soft, etherial, seeming to come from far away. "Tangled, confused, resisting. Deep feelings long denied. I sense--"

"That's enough." Zelgadis cut her off curtly. "Listen, thanks for the advice, but we're on a schedule and we're already running behind. Come on, Amelia, say goodbye and let's get going."

He did not give her time to argue, turning on his heel and striding away, back to the rainbow lambs' pen to retrieve Sunshine from where she'd been left tied to a tree so that she could graze. 

Amelia watched him stalk off, surprised. _Where did _that _come from?_ She turned to look at her friends and saw the same surprised look on Ril's face, but Kembri had the same bemused expression as her teacher. "What is it?" 

Kembri hesitated, looking to her teacher as if for help or guidance. "Well…Mister Zelgadis definitely has some kind of strong feeling buried deep inside him, but…it's like there's a wall or something, keeping people out. People do that sometimes, to keep from being hurt. My father did…" 

Amelia remembered what Kembri had said once, about how her father had become emotionally closed off from other people after his wife, Kembri's mother, died. He had become very mean and nasty to everyone except Kembri, until a chance spell of Amelia's had made him admit why he was the way he was. According to the young healer-in-training, that had been the catalyst for a time of healing, a time where Kembri had watched her father begin to open up to other people and start to enjoy life again. 

Somehow Amelia didn't think a simple Megido Flare spell would be enough to heal Zelgadis, wall or no wall. He needed real magic, on a par with Shabranigdo's. She took a deep breath and let it out as a resigned sigh, and tried to smile at her new friends. "Well, I'd better join him." 

She bowed deeply to Dahri and thanked her, then turned to Rilloban and began to do the same, but he surprised her by hugging her warmly, though when he pulled away she could see the pink blush over his nose. "T-take care, Amelia." 

Kembri also hugged her tightly, her big violet eyes leaking tears. "I wish I could do something more to help you," she whispered mournfully, her voice trembling. 

Amelia took comfort from her friend's embrace, closing her eyes and whispering back, "Don't forget--the next time I have a ball you're invited, all right? I'll see you again…soon…" She could feel the tears starting and sniffed them back, releasing Kembri and wiping her eyes with the palms of her gloves--Zelgadis' gloves, the ones that he had let her borrow and never asked her to return… "Both of you."

She took one last look around at the prosperous, happy town and then turned toward Zelgadis, who had not waited for her to say her goodbyes and was standing with Sunshine at the edge of the field where the town ended. He had pushed back his hood and lowered his mask, as if he'd suddenly felt their constriction--another kind of wall?--and behind her she heard her friends gasp. 

Amelia turned to them with a solemn face, wondering how they saw him, and was pleased to see that their expressions were more curious and wondering than frightened. She beamed at them and gushed, "Isn't he _handsome?" _

The two young lovers watched as the princess of Seyrune ran to join her enchanted prince-to-be and looked at each other, and smiled. 

************************************************************************ 

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Cloaknblade asks: So where are they going to get the airship from? That might help some in naming it you know.

Answer---They're going to get some villagers to build it for them. I don't want to say too much or when you read it it'll be like watching a rerun. And I may not use Gourry to come up with the name, so don't be restricted by that idea…   


****

Millina and Jamfase ask about Naga as Amelia's sister--  
Stara Maijka gives a reference for that particular question: 'From looking at the Nagha comments, I'd say not many people have seen the interview with Kanzaka on QP Diana's page that she translated into English. In it he confirms Nagha is Amelia's sister.'

---And I'd have to say Lina MUST know they're sisters--don't palaces always have oil paintings of family members on the walls? Besides, they do look alike. I honestly doubt that Lina, who doesn't miss much, would fail to notice the resemblance--but seeing as how Naga seems to repel her so much, I doubt she would ever mention her to Amelia, if for no other reason than that she knew Amelia would insist on searching for the annoying woman to see if she IS the lost princess. And it isn't nice to mention the black sheep of the family--didn't Gourry thump Zel on the head for doing just that?   



	58. Chapter 58: Clash! A Terrible Confront...

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Only Stone on the Outside

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a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, 'cause I like to know people are interested. There are a few minor spoilers, but nothing descriptive. Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

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PG-13 for minor swearing and some lime-i-ness..

Note: Hedge-hurdling is the Slayers-world version of steeplechasing, which is basically a horse race where they have to jump their horses over brushy fences, water pits and other obstacles.

****

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Clash! A Terrible Confrontation 

The town of Tollik receded into the distance behind them. As the raven-haired princess rode her golden mare beside the slender stone man on their way to rejoin their companions, she had a lot of time to think. She glanced at Zelgadis out of the corner of her eye and bit her lip. _I'm getting worried… There's not much time left. Miss Lina said they've already been to see the Oracle. She said whatever happened to him was so awful that she was afraid to ask him about it. I was hoping Tollik's healer could do something to help him…but now the only hope I have left is that Miss Lina is right and the Oracle did give him some kind of cure. _

Miss Lina thinks the cure has a sacrifice of some kind involved, something so terrible that he can't bring himself to use it, but I don't remember anything_ like that in the journal I found. The chimera-man in the story, Gaderi, took the spell the Oracle gave him and went back home and used it, and then he married his princess and lived happily ever after. _

Amelia reached up to scratch an itch on her nose. _Now that I think about it, the book didn't really say much about the cure. I guess I just assumed it was an easy spell. _She placed the side of her curved finger to her chin in thought. _Maybe the fact that Zelgadis was transformed by someone so powerful--or two someones, really--makes his cure harder than Gaderi's. _He_ was only cursed by a powerful _human_ mage. I guess it's different when one of the pieces of Lord Shabranigdo is involved. _

What kind of sacrifice could there be? What price would an Oracle ask? I really don't remember anything about a price in the journal--I got the impression that the Oracle was friendly and helpful. She turned to look down at the enigmatic stone man walking beside her and wondered, _Maybe now is a good time to ask him about it? Maybe he just didn't want to tell Miss Lina, for some reason. If anyone has the right to know, _I_ do, after all, _I'm_ the one who wants to marry him--oh! _

The young princess put one hand over her lips as her eyes opened wide in remembrance._ I promised I wouldn't talk about anything that has to do with us getting married! Does asking about his cure count? _Her brow furrowed._ I guess so. He must know that he can't marry me if he stays a chimera, so I can't ask… _

I wish I knew what he wanted! Either he doesn't _want to marry me and is waiting until after I get married to become human again, or… He _might _be interested in marrying me…oh, I hope so, but…he's so hard to figure out! _Her small fists clenched tightly around the mare's reins in frustration._ He never says what he's feeling unless I ask him, and not always then. He tries to pretend things don't bother him when I know they do…sometimes I wish we'd had a little more time together before we caught up to where Miss Lina and Mister Gourry were being kept prisoners. _

Then Amelia blushed with shame at her selfish thought. _It's _my_ fault we're on this journey in the first place. They're all doing this for me. I shouldn't be complaining; I should be trying to honor my vow to be more patient, more mature, so Zelgadis will see that I'm not just little Ame-chan anymore. I _have_ to hold on to my hope that things will work out all right…if they don't, I'll find out soon enough. I want to enjoy every moment that I spend with him._

'Cute.' She called him 'cute'. I feel like a puppet on a string--and now I find out I'm not the only one! Zelgadis thought as he strode stiffly beside Amelia on her palomino mare. His face was grim as he mulled over the newest bit of information he had overheard, courtesy of his excellent thrice-damned chimeric hearing. _Amelia already has a fiance. _He had never heard her talk about another man in quite that way before. _She must have been really attracted to this guy to say something like that. Obviously better-looking than me--he's got to be, if he's human. _

Amelia turned again to look at the chimera, who walked silently beside her with his usual inscrutable expression, and sighed. _He's so handsome, and so…so somber. I wish there was something more I could do to help him._ _Mister Gourry said he thinks Zelgadis might be afraid to love me. I guess I understand…sometimes I get scared when I think that he might not love me back the way I love him, but I already told him how I feel--so what could he be scared of? Of me? Or of being in love?_

The chimera clenched a bare stone fist, feeling an unaccustomed burning emotion rise up inside of him, an emotion other people might have recognized as jealousy._ 'Cute', is he? I wonder how cute he'll be if I-- _

Hmm…I wonder if he's ever been in love before? It occurred to the princess that the average woman might not see the stone man with the same appreciative eyes as her own. _But still, he wasn't always a chimera, was he? What about before he was cursed? I wish I knew more about his past…hey, that's something I can still ask him about, as long as I don't mention marriage, right?_

She thought for a few moments about how to start. "Mister Zelgadis, what did you like to do when you were little?" 

If I beat the-- "Huh?" He looked startled. "How do you mean?"

"What kind of games did you play? Did you have any pets?"

He eyed her for a moment, but then apparently decided to indulge her curiosity. "I practiced swordfighting, mostly. I lived with some cousins for a while who had the training services of a master swordsman, so I got an early start."

"Is that all? You must have done other things beside train." She was disappointed and a little frustrated at his unwillingness to open up. Zelgadis looked at her for a moment with his usual impassive expression, but then he added unexpectedly, "I played the guiolin. At one time I thought I might become a minstrel…before…"

As his voice trailed off Amelia completed his sentence in her head: _Before I was cursed. _This was too close to dangerous conversational territory, so she piped up with a nervous laugh, "I thought maybe you had some pets--you get along so well with Sunny and Shiran."

"I did. Well, not pets, but I had horses I rode in competitions." His voice took on a definite note of warmth, and Amelia pounced on it. 

"Competitions? You mean racing?"

"Sometimes…what I really liked is called hedge-hurdling . It's a race, but you have to jump your horse over obstacles. Usually fences, sometimes plain ones, sometimes ones covered with brush cut from trees, sometimes ones with magic booby-traps, or with a deep puddle dug into the ground either in front of it or behind it…"

Amelia was fascinated. "I've heard of those, but I've never seen one. It sounds exciting!"

"It is." She was pleased to see the beginnings of an enthusiastic smile on his lips as he continued, "You have to literally judge how long your horse's strides are and control how many steps he makes and how fast he runs in order to make each jump. If you misjudge, you run into all kinds of trouble. One time I…"

Amelia listened to her beloved chimera recount some of his youthful adventures--and misadventures--with a gladness so great that she had trouble keeping the tears from her eyes. She was never more happy than when Zelgadis dropped his barriers and let her in, but the times were so rare that she was fast growing to treasure them greatly. _I guess Miss Lina is right; he sounds like he comes from a fairly well-to-do family. I wonder why he never mentions any of them? Besides Rezo, this is the first time I've even heard that he has any other relatives. _Her breath caught._ Unless…something's happened to them all, and he really _is_ alone! _

Her lower lip trembled and she turned away for a moment to control her expression. After taking a few deep breaths, she gazed down at the easy, relaxed look on Zelgadis' face as he walked beside Sunshine's shoulder, talking about a horse he had once owned, and slowly her heartache eased. _Well, in any case, he has _us _for a family now--me and Miss Lina and Mister Gourry… _She swallowed. _ Even if this doesn't work out and I can't marry him, he'll still always be…someone very special to me… _

Soon Amelia noticed that they were approaching the large pine tree that had been chosen as their meeting place with Gourry and Lina. _Oh, I wanted to ask him if he had any girlfriends, _she remembered. When there was a lull in the conversation, Amelia seized her chance to find out more about her love's past romantic history while he was in this rare chatty mood. "You must have been a magnificent sight, leaping your horse over all those fences, winning all those awards… There must have been lots of girls in love with you."

A shadow crossed the chimera's face. "I don't know about that," he commented quietly.

"But you must have!" Amelia protested, shocked. "Surely there was _one_ girl at least who was special to you, right?" 

"No. Girls didn't like me. They scorned me. They--" He looked up and caught her distressed face and suddenly cut himself off. Helplessly, Amelia watched as his face closed up, his expression becoming cold and rigid. "If you're trying to find out about my love life, stop. Or at least ask me outright, instead of resorting to this kind of manipulative behavior!" His voice rose almost to a shout. 

"What?" The princess was stunned. "What do you mean? I'm not--I mean, I didn't mean to--" She felt as tongue-tied as her friend Rilloban. It had never occurred to her that he would be so angry. "I only wanted to know more about you, because I--"

"And when were you going to tell me about your fiance?" the stone man demanded.

Amelia felt her breath rush out of her as if someone had punched her hard in the stomach. "How--how did you--"

"I overheard you talking to Kembri about him back in the village. Never mind that." The chimera ran a hard blue hand through his shining wire hair with an odd silvery sound. "This whole journey is…"

"Amelia? Zelgadis? What's going on?" came Lina's voice. 

The princess and the chimera turned to see Shiran approaching at a fast trot through the knee-high grass, with Lina and Gourry jogging behind her. Both of the watchers' eyes widened at the sight of the large pale lavender orchid tucked into the petite sorceress' black headband. _What do you suppose they've been up to since we've been gone? _both of them thought, blushing simultaneously.

Zelgadis shook his head, deciding to ignore that for now. As his friends drew near, Lina started right in with her usual relentless questioning. "How come you're so late? Why you still have that horse? And we heard shouting--what's going on?"

The chimera's lips thinned to a hard line. "You should know."

Lina looked surprised at his acidic tone. He added heatedly, "This whole journey was _your_ idea." 

The sorceress' ruby eyes widened. "Zel…what are you talking about?" As he glared at her, his sensitive ears caught the faltering undertone in her voice. "Amelia was the one who found your cure and made the plans…Gourry and I just came along to--"

__

"Enough!" he shouted, losing his temper completely as the stormcloud of emotions that had been building deep in the chimera's heart ever since the Oracle's cave burst forth with a fury. 

"How can you stand there and lie to my face like that?" he demanded furiously. His voice was filled with bitter venom. "Do you think I'm stupid? A gullible fool, a moronic lackey, like Gourry?"

"Hey!" Lina said indignantly at this completely uncalled-for insult to the gentle swordsman. Her face began to show the first signs of losing her infamously volcanic temper, but the stone man ignored the warning signs, too infuriated himself to care. He didn't often lose his temper--not like this, wherein he was so reckless that he discarded all his hard-won tact and manners, and even friendship became negligible. In this state he often said or did things that he regretted later.

"I'm sick and tired of being treated like a puppet, as if I have no will of my own. You've always had a big ego, Lina, but you've gotten such a swelled head lately that traveling with you is almost intolerable! Just because you defeated a couple of Dark Lords doesn't make you one." 

Behind him he heard Amelia gasp at this blatant insult. Gourry and Shiran looked back and forth between the verbal combatants as if watching a game of Brass Rackets. Lina looked stunned for a moment, but even as she began to respond he turned to the princess and stabbed a blue finger at her. "And you, Amelia. How could you do this? Hide something like this from me?"

She was caught completely unawares. "I--I--" She couldn't meet his eyes, and hung her head as waves of grief and shame seared her. Her eyes burned with the tears that she had held back so successfully up to now, and began to overflow. As he spoke again, his voice revealed his fierce anger, and an even greater anguish that made her throat close up, choking her. 

"You were…the one person I trusted more than anyone. I didn't want to believe that you were capable of such…duplicity. I--I wanted to believe that you really did want--" Zelgadis cut himself off as his voice began to crack betrayingly. He watched as twin lines of tears ran down the young girl's cheeks. She made no sound, but her expression was so tragic that he felt a sharp twinge in his chest at the pain he was causing her, but he knew he had to resist the urge to gather her in his arms and comfort her.

She hasn't denied it, he told himself, realizing from the sinking feeling inside that he had wanted her to somehow be innocent. _She planned this all along--to cure me and use my subsequent gratitude to bind me into a marriage. Maybe Lina came up with the idea, _he surmised, still unwilling even in the clear evidence of her wrongdoing to condemn her as being truly devious, _but she still went along with it. I don't know if she ever really believed she was in love with me, or if she was faking that as well, but Amelia could have confessed her part in this scheme to me at any time. We were alone together away from Lina's influence for long enough for her to reconsider what she was doing to me. She didn't. And that means…I can't trust her at all. Or any of them. _

"I thought you were my friends." He couldn't hide the clear note of betrayal in his tone.

"We _are _your friends, damn it!" Lina cried, momentarily forgetting her own anger. She stepped between Zelgadis and Amelia and glared up at him with her hands on her slim hips. The big lavender flower bobbed merrily at her temple, completely incongruous with her frustrated expression. "We just thought it'd be better to wait 'till we were back in Seyrune, to give you the chance to adjust to being human first. We didn't know the damn ship was going to get wrecked. Gourry and I sure didn't plan on getting kidnapped! We just--ran out of time…"

She trailed off at the hard look in the chimera's eyes, and his next statement completely decimated her defense. "Even if everything had gone according to your scheme, don't you think I might have felt obliged to accept the proposal?"

The petite sorceress stared at him for a moment, then looked away, refusing to meet his gaze, as wolves do when backing down from a conflict. This rare victory over the hot-tempered sorceress did much to calm the chimera. Zelgadis sighed as a great feeling of tiredness weight him down, lowering his head as if his outburst had finally burned his heart's crucible clean. His slender frame slumped as he said quietly, but with a note of bitterness he could not hide, "You never even gave me the choice."

For several moments there was silence, save for the soft sounds of Amelia's weeping as she faced away from the group with her face in her hands, her small shoulders shaking. Lina put an arm around her to comfort her while Gourry looked from one person to another, trying to understand why everyone was so upset with each other. 

Finally Zelgadis squared his shoulders and stated evenly, "We don't have time to waste. I will return to Seyrune, as I promised, and after that…I will leave. Let's go." He began walking without a backward glance. 

"Why, you--" Lina took a step toward him, but Amelia took hold of her black cape and stopped her. 

"No, Miss Lina--let him go," she said quietly. Lina looked back and forth from Amelia's shadowed eyes in her tearstained face to Zelgadis' stiffly retreating back, and subsided reluctantly. 

At dusk they stopped to set up camp. Zelgadis had pushed the pace considerably, conscious of the two days or more that they had to make up for, and for a change no one complained--in fact, all of the travelers were unnaturally silent. The three humans had all taken turns riding the 

palomino mare, who was doing quite well now that she was getting grain in her diet as well as grass, and the group had made good time. 

The night was warm enough so that there was no need for a campfire, but the two girls shared the ground cloth anyway, as they had done every night since the 'rescue'. Gourry settled down near Lina, and Zelgadis, to Amelia's woe, chose to sleep on the opposite side of the clearing. Shiran slept on Amelia's other side.

As Lina lay down on the heavy blue ground cloth, she turned to sleep on her side, and something soft and fragile touched her temple. Instantly she jerked her head up from the cloth and then sat up, reaching for the forgotten orchid that was still nestled in her headband where Gourry had placed it that afternoon. 

As Amelia approached the ground cloth and sat down, Lina pulled the blossom from her headband and held it out to the princess. Amelia gave her a quizzical look. "It was supposed to be for you," Lina explained. "Gourry spotted it."

"It's for me?" The younger girl's eyes widened in delight as she took the large, pale lavender flower and studied it in the dim light from the banked campfire. "I noticed it earlier. It's lovely!" Then she tilted her head to the side. "Mister Gourry gave this to you?" 

The diminutive sorceress flushed as she realized what Amelia was referring to. When a girl wears a flower given to her by a man, it usually means that they're more than friends. _We sure are… _ she thought, remembering vividly the kisses they'd enjoyed, and then noticed Amelia watching her. 

Flustered, she stammered, "N-no--he noticed it 'cause it looks like Shiran's fur, and it _is--_a shiran, I mean, a purple orchid, well, lavender anyway, and Gourry thought my headband would be a better place to carry it than in his bag where it might get crushed… And with everything that happened today we both forgot all about giving it to you…"

"I see." Amelia smiled at her understandingly. "It's very beautiful." She turned the pale lavender-white flower by its stem, admiring it. "I've never seen one so light-colored. Orchids are usually a deep blue-purple or magenta, aren't they?"

"Or golden-yellow," Lina agreed, glad to be off the hot seat. "That's why we picked it--'cause it reminded us of Shiran's fur." _And Gourry thought it made me look cute…_

Amelia hesitated, then asked, "Miss Lina? Would you…would you mind wearing it for me? I haven't got a headband like yours."

Lina was a little taken aback. "You don't want it?" 

"Oh, it's not that. It's just…if I wear it, I can't see it. You see?" 

"Yeah," the redhead said slowly, and smiled. _You're a good friend, Amelia. I guess I didn't realize 'till now that I've sort of gotten attached to my own little shiran. _

She lifted the blossom from her friend's fingers and hesitated, then leaned over to place it in the grass off the edge of the ground cloth, well out of reach of her usual nightly gyrations. "That'll keep me from squishing it in my sleep." 

Amelia nodded and smiled at her warmly. "Thank you very much, Miss Lina. That was very thoughtful of you." 

Lina returned the smile. _Thank you, Amelia._

* 

The next morning Amelia woke early, and looked around for Zelgadis, as she always did first thing in the morning. He was still asleep, lying several feet away in the thick grass, but as she watched he turned over restlessly, and she knew he would soon awaken. 

Then she blinked and rubbed her eyes. His movement had turned him so that he was facing her, and at such an unexpected sight she had to struggle to hold back a rouge giggle, only to end up snickering quietly through her nose. _I've got to show this to Miss Lina! _

Moving quietly, she scooted over to where Lina lay flat on her back, her arms and legs akimbo, and whispered into the older girl's ear, "Miss Lina, wake up." She set a hand on the redhead's shoulder and shook gently. 

"Mmm…Amelia? Wha--" Lina began, but the princess put one finger over her own lips to show the need for quiet, suddenly worried that the chimera's sensitive hearing would cause him to awaken. Lina's ruby eyes widened, then one red eyebrow quirked as if to ask, _What's wrong? _

Amelia beamed at her to show that there was no danger, and pointed at the sleeping chimera 

Lina looked, and repeated Amelia's earlier reactions of blinking and rubbing her eyes as she took in the sight of the usually somber chimera lying in the grass with quite a few small yellow flowers attractively nestled among the pale blue wires of his hair. Amelia had been trying to control her laughter, but when Lina let out a snort of mirth, sputtering, and then began to guffaw, the young princess lost the battle, giggling uncontrollably. 

Zelgadis thrashed around and abruptly sat upright, his eyes wildly staring at the two young girls apparently having hysterics in front of him. _Are they laughing? _He looked rapidly from side to side, trying to figure out the cause of their merriment, but the only result was a new burst of hilarity, as they both dropped down to the ground cloth and wrapped their arms around themselves, rolling around gleefully as tears trickled from their eyes. 

"Do you have to make so much noise?" he said grumpily. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

Amelia tried to control herself, gasping frantically between bouts of chortling, feeling her face turning deep red but unable to stop laughing. "Sorry--Mister--Zelgadis," she managed breathlessly. Lina didn't even try.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry," the princess giggled. "You--you have--" She put both hands over her mouth, trying to stifle herself, not wanting to hoot in his face. 

Zelgadis gave her a suspicious look. "Is there something on my face?"

"No," she gasped, "Hee-hee-hee--in your hair."

His hands went to his hair, his stone fingers sliding through the fine metal strands, and a small yellow blossom fluttered down to land on his leg. He raked his fingers through his hair, dislodging several more flowers that scattered around him like snowflakes. 

Then he gave the girls a dirty look. Amelia correctly interpreted his expression and took her hands away from her mouth to wave them from side to side in front of her. "No--we didn't do it. Honestly!" Her laughter abated abruptly in the face of his displeasure. 

He glared at her, then checked behind him. Sure enough, there was a patch of yellow flowers where his head had been. As Lina's guffaws died down, Amelia crawled toward him through the grass and reached out with one hand, saying cheerfully, "You missed one. Let me get it for you."

As her hand came toward his face, Zelgadis suddenly remembered the events of the prior day, and moved his head away from her outstretched hand, turning his face away from the princess' questing fingers, spurning her. 

Amelia froze with her hand in mid-air. A dark shadow seemed to fall over her face as she also remembered what had happened yesterday, and took in his now-wary expression. Her small face seemed to crumple in grief, and she stood up and trudged dejectedly away into the bushes without a word. 

Zelgadis rose to his feet and began to walk toward the banked camp fire without a glance in the princess' direction. 

Lina had watched the whole thing with her fists clenching and unclenching, a dangerous twitch in her left eye. As soon as Amelia was gone she roared, "That's _it, _you _un_grateful, _ill_-mannered, misbegotten son of a--FIIIREB--"

"No!" Amelia's scream rang out as she leaped from the brush to stand in front of Zelgadis, her arms outstretched as if to protect him. "Don't hurt him!"

Gourry, who had slept through the girls' boisterous laughter with no apparent effort, jerked upright with a terrified look in his eyes, as if even in his sleep he knew which dangers to listen for. Shiran was suddenly standing in front of her bonded ones, her lavender fur bristling as she snarled warningly. 

Lina stopped short in the middle of her windup, the faint glow of the impending fireball fading from her hands as she gave the dragonwolf a nervous glance, then gaped at the younger girl. "Amelia, why are you stopping me?"

"He doesn't deserve it," the younger girl answered sincerely.

"What are you _talking_ about? He's been acting like a jerk for _way_ too long--and didn't you hear what he called me yesterday?" 

"He's right."

"What?"

Shiran reacted to Lina's raised voice with a louder snarl. "Shiran, hush," Amelia said quietly but firmly, and the beast quieted instantly, turning her great head to whine at the dark-haired girl as if to say, _Are you sure?_

"It's all right," Amelia said, and stroked the fluffy mane of darker purple fur between Shiran's ears. "I didn't mean _you, _Miss Lina, I meant me." She sent quick a glance of sorrow over her shoulder at Zelgadis , who was watching silently with his customary--and infuriating, in Lina's opinion--inscrutable countenance, then continued, "I _have_ been acting sneaky and dishonest…and I _did_ plan all this without telling him or asking for his consent. I deserve to be punished!" 

Her voice began to get louder, a note of anguish mixing with her familiar dramatic speech-making tones. "I can't believe I was so unjust! I acted like the worst kind of lying, underhanded…" She paused, as if unable to decide on a terrible-enough word to describe herself, and finally finished in a small voice, "I can't even ask for his forgiveness. He's right to hate me."

The princess' astonishing statement shocked Lina out of her anger. She caught the swift look of pain that passed over the chimera's stone face before he could hide it, and then watched as he turned on his heel and walked away into the brush. _What is the _matter_ with him? _Lina thought in baffled frustration._ He almost acts like he really _does_ hate her--but that look on his face right now…and the other day, when he held her in his arms after she had that nightmare…_

She looked back and forth, undecided as to whether or not to go after Zelgadis and give him a taste of a sorceress' displeasure, but the lost, distressed look on the princess' face made her decide Amelia needed her more. Lina hesitated, then said gently, "Amelia, I don't think he _hates _you… He's _mad_ at you--us--right now," she admitted, and took a deep breath before adding softly, "but I don't think Zelgadis could _ever_ hate you."

Amelia only looked at her with haggard blue eyes in a face that seemed to have aged years in a single day. "I hope so, Miss Lina. I hope so."

"Besides," Lina added with a bit of her usual sarcasm, "Most of this was _my_ idea, remember? Don't you go claiming the credit."

She was rewarded when Amelia gave her a weak smile. 

*********************************************************************

****

Author's Notes: I'm still looking for names for the flying craft. **Here's a hint: I like nature-inspired names best. 

So the inevitable accusation occurs! How many of you wonder if Zel is hiding something of his own? Lina suspects…

I hope people don't think it's annoying to come across a lot of words they don't know. When I first started writing I thought about only using words I was sure people would know, but three things stopped me: 1- there's no way to be sure which words people do know, 2- it'd be like I was insulting your intelligence, assuming that you don't know something, and 3- even though many words can mean the same thing, there's a little something called connotations (associations) that can change the entire meaning of a sentence. For example 'he gazed at her' vs. 'he watched her'. Which is more romantic? And in my title--I chose 'confrontation' instead of 'fight' because one of the connotations of 'confrontation' is that someone is accusing someone else of something. 

****

Ichiban Victory asked: 'Touch of Shabranigdo's curse?? That sounds downright evil! Not to mention horrible! No wonder Zelgadis opted not to say anything... Would this be some nasty present Rezo left behind should anyone ever break Zelgadis' curse?'

*Not exactly--it just seemed logical to me that anyone who wanted to mess with something left behind by Shabranigdo would essentially come into contact with his evil influence…   


****

Purr asked: Didn't you say in an earlier chapter that ALL the rainbow sheep had died out? 

*I think I mentioned that the old mage who created them had started selling/trading them about a year before he died, as if he knew he didn't have long to live and didn't want his creation to die out.


	59. Chapter 59: Treachery at the Inn

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Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG-13 for minor swearing and _references_ to bodily functions, rape and violence.

Note: Onegai-- 'please' in Japanese

Arigatou-- 'thank you' in Japanese

Gomen-- 'sorry' in Japanese

WC--water-closet-- see Author's Notes 

****

Chapter Fifty-Nine: Treachery at the Inn 

It took four days to reach the next good-sized town, and none of them enjoyed the trip. Lina had decided that if she couldn't punish Zelgadis, then she would ostracize him. She completely ignored his presence, especially when it came to handing out food at mealtimes, and refused to allow Gourry to speak to Zelgadis either, although the blonde swordsman had not been offended by the chimera's insult and would have preferred peace between all of his friends.

Amelia's behavior worried Lina. She didn't say much to Zelgadis, but then, she didn't say much to anyone else, either. Amelia did offer Zelgadis food from Sunshine's saddlebags, but the young girl was more quiet and reserved than anyone had ever seen her, almost as if she had aged overnight. She never sang or skipped or commented on the unusual features of their surroundings, as she always had in the past, but she denied that anything was wrong when Lina questioned her. 

"I'm older now; it's not proper for a princess to indulge in juvenile antics," she told the astonished sorceress. Gourry and Zelgadis both stared at her with wide eyes, though the stone man looked away quickly when Amelia turned to him as if looking for approval.

Every now and then the red-haired sorceress noticed Amelia reaching into her fuzzy pink waist-pouch and pulling out what looked like some kind of blue stone carving. The formerly lively, cheerful princess would cradle the small object in the palm of her hand and gaze at it, her face troubled, pensive, wistful, but when Lina asked her what it was the younger girl hastily slipped the thing into her pouch, muttering, "Oh, nothing…" 

Lina's automatic reaction was to make a grab for the pouch. It was right in front of her face, since the princess was riding on Sunshine at the time--an easy victory--but the look on Amelia's face stopped her. The princess was flushed, as if embarrassed, staring down at Sunshine's white mane with both hands clenched into fists around the reins, but her expression was oddly despondent, as if looking at the statue had made her sad. 

This has to be Zelgadis' fault, Lina thought in exasperation. _What'd he do, give her lessons on how to be gloomy, prim, and proper? _To Lina, the chimera seemed to have reverted to the cold, uncaring mercenary of three years ago. He barely spoke to anyone and behaved as if he was only tolerating their company. 

Yet if Amelia's behavior worried Lina, it did even more to Zelgadis. He was plagued by more guilt than he'd ever felt in his life, (not that he let it show), even more than when he'd worked for Rezo, because this time he was unable to wall off his emotions. He had a hard time sleeping at night; Amelia's grave, sad little face appeared in every dream. 

The chimera did not want to act as if he was miffed at Amelia, but it seemed to be the best way to make a clean break of it. His genuine anger toward her had long since burned out--any lingering embers of resentment had been quenched by Amelia's obvious remorse. He would have forgiven her in a heartbeat, had he felt free to do so. 

Every now and then he caught her giving him a forlorn, sorrowful glance, which always made him wince. _It's not my fault, _he told himself repeatedly. _I didn't ask for any of this. All I wanted was my cure, not…not romantic entanglements. I didn't _ask_ for Amelia to fall in love with me! _

Then he sighed, his resentment fading. _It's probably for the best. I can't commit to her the way things are, and the price of changing those factors is too high. This way is less cruel, in the long run. She'll marry young what's-his-name and live a normal life. It's for her own good. _

So why didn't he believe it?

*

They met several nervous-looking travelers who all warned them to beware of a pair of vicious thieves who were known to prey on travelers in this region. Amelia's route north had been slightly different, so she had not heard of this town's troubles, but with this news she began to behave a little more like her normal stomp-evildoers-into-the-ground self, to the amused relief of her companions.

Lina, of course, was not only _not_ worried, but already planning ways to spend the loot she would acquire from this new batch of bandits. The men were not as enthusiastic, but neither were they particularly worried--they could take care of themselves.

The town looked ordinary enough-- main street of packed earth, with assorted homes and shops scattered around behind the ones facing the street. A large wooden platform, obviously a gathering place, had been raised about five feet above street level at one end of the street.

"Look, there's an inn," Lina cried gladly, breaking into a run with Gourry hot on her heels. 

"Food!" both of them shouted together. 

Zelgadis traded amused glances with Amelia, who rolled her eyes with a bit of her usual good spirits before sobering abruptly. She dismounted from Sunshine and tied the mare's reins to the fence in front of the inn before going in after their friends. Zelgadis followed her inside, wondering if the inn's owners would try to make them keep Shiran outside. He also wondered how Shiran would react to being indoors. _Is she even housebroken? _

They had arrived at the supper hour, and the place was packed. Nearly thirty small tables filled the long room to capacity, all of them crammed full of noisily jabbering customers. They might have had some difficulty getting a table to themselves, but Lina, with her usual brash manners, managed to 'persuade' a group of middle-aged men who were sitting at the table closest to the kitchen door into giving it up. 

While Lina bellowed for the waiter and then proceeded to freak him out by ordering her usual staggering amount of food, Zelgadis looked around the room, checking for alternate escape routes other than the door through which they'd entered. He had chosen to wear his hood and face mask, but with Lina along, caution was always a wise choice. _You never know when she's going to start a brawl. _ Besides, the sheer noise level of so many people was disturbing to the chimera, who was accustomed to the gentle background sounds of nature. 

The long building had two main rooms--the kitchen and the dining area. The crowded dining area was L-shaped, with three doors--the one from which they had entered in the center of the long front wall, the one that led to the kitchen, and another door in the back wall facing out to the yard where the stable was. The table Lina had gotten them was at the opposite end of the building and around the corner from the back door, so Zelgadis hoped there wouldn't be any sudden need for an escape. _We'd have to fight our way through nearly all of the tables--and customers--to get to it. _

A set of stairs in the corner led up to the second floor, where the guests presumably slept. It was a fairly nice inn, by Zelgadis' standards, clean and decorated with a modicum of good taste. There were even a few pictures on the walls.

The waiter's voice went from flabbergasted to desperate as he asked Amelia what she wanted to order. Zelgadis listened as she reeled off a list of food that was twice as much as she probably intended to consume; she had learned that the easiest way to have enough food while traveling with Lina's group was to have plenty of extra rations. 

She also ordered some raw meat for Shiran, who looked as uncomfortable as Zelgadis felt. The dragonwolf had taken refuge under the table, away from curious/nervous eyes. The waiter sounded dubious, as if he wanted to ask Amelia to leave Shiran outside, but the princess was quick to reassure the man that Shiran was under control and would not be any trouble. 

When Zelgadis' turn came, the waiter, on the brink of a nervous breakdown, almost fainted when all the chimera ordered was a small steak and some greens with a hot tea. Over the years Lina had finally learned that his reaction times were faster than her greedy fingers; for the most part she left _his_ food alone. 

"Miss Lina," Amelia said to the red-haired sorceress, who was drumming her fingers impatiently on the heavy wooden table, "I'm going to make a quick run to powder my nose--don't eat my food, okay? Shiran--remain." She slipped out of her chair before Lina could answer, and began weaving her way through the people-filled tables toward the back door, where most inns kept their water-closets. Zelgadis watched her until she disappeared around the corner. A shaft of sunlight appeared briefly, announcing her departure. 

"Where's she going? The food's going to be cold," Gourry commented with a puzzled glance toward the back door, apparently not having heard the first part of her statement over the crowd's loud jabbering.

Zelgadis watched as Lina's face flushed slightly. "She has to take care of--something."

The stone man wondered for a moment about her blush, then felt his own face grow warm as a sudden notion hit him. He looked away, staring at one of the pictures of a man riding his leaping gray horse over a brightly-painted brush-covered fence, obviously engaged in a hedge-hurdling race. 

Zelgadis was reminded of his last friendly conversation with Amelia. He had reminisced about his youthful escapades with great enthusiasm--of all the things he missed about being human, riding in competitions was one of the things he missed the most. Amelia had been eager to hear about it all--but then somehow the conversation had gone terribly wrong and the next thing he knew, he had managed to turn them all against him. 

__

Well, not against_ me, exactly, not Amelia and Gourry anyway. But it seems in order to keep Amelia safe, I have to be at odds with the only other people in this world I can truly call my friends. At least until after Amelia is safely married; then I can explain everything to Lina. She's tactical-minded; she'll understand, and help me make Xellos use the Oracle's cure--I hope._

"I'll have a glass of water, if you don't mind," came a familiar cheery voice. 

"Xellos!" three voice cried simultaneously as their owners jumped and turned to stare at the mazoku, who was sitting innocently in Amelia's vacated seat. Shiran made them all jump again as a fierce snarl emerged from under the table. 

"Shiran, remain!" Zelgadis ordered gruffly. The last thing he needed was to have the dragonwolf create a scene, though he understood her animosity perfectly. It was the same way he himself always felt when Xellos appeared. 

"It's about time you showed up!" Lina pounded a fist on the table, demanding, "Where's that transportation you promised us?" 

Zelgadis was silent, caught by conflicting emotions. One the one hand, he wanted the mazoku to stay with them this time, so that later he would be able to have Xellos on hand to help with his cure, but another part of him wanted to give into his instincts and get rid of the powerful nuisance as soon as possible. 

"I'm glad to see you're looking well, Lina. My, my, but you had a _nasty_ time back there in Varxin's Realm, didn't you?" Xellos replied with his perpetual smile, just as if Lina had welcomed him with the most cordial of greetings. 

It's a little disconcerting to have someone who's slaughtered whole races of people have better manners than you do, Zelgadis thought, understanding Lina's sudden confounded expression. 

After a moment, she shook it off and repeated, "Well, anyway, Xellos--where is it?"

Wordlessly, the apparent man reached into his black cloak and pulled out what looked like an oval-shaped gem of some kind suspended on a thin cord made of leather. The gem was about half the size of an egg, with sparkling facets in a rich blue color. "This crystal will enhance certain magic powers. For example--"

"I've already _got_ gems like that, remember? You sold them to me," Lina interrupted impatiently, "and they aren't any good for making us travel faster."

"Ah, but this one is different." Xellos' voice began to take on his storyteller/teacher's cadence, and Zelgadis found himself listening along with his comrades as Xellos explained the gem's properties. "You see, this gem enhances the wearer's ability to control the wind, magnifying his or her power to fly. Thus, if a person wearing this gem chose to do so, he--or she--could transport several people in addition to--" 

"Well, that's fine for short term use," Lina interrupted, "but you can't expect us to do it for days at a time--flying is really exhausting, you know?"

"And scary," Gourry added, a worried look on his face.

"On the contrary, this gem will greatly reduce the effort needed to carry multiple passengers." Xellos reassured Lina. "Any of you, aside from Gourry of course, would be able to use this gem for hours at a time, or longer. You would even have the energy needed to carry the princess' horse, and that other…pet." For a moment his face became almost sulky, causing Zelgadis to wonder if the mazoku found the idea of a companion animal repugnant, too imbued with the one emotion that all mazoku couldn't bear--love.

"Really?" Lina snatched the gem from the mazoku's gloved hand and tucked it away in a pocket of her cloak, away from any curious eyes in the crowd. Then her expression became suspicious. "So then what's the catch? What do you want for it? Money?"

"No," Xellos waved a hand sideways in front of his face, "No money. I _will_ require you to return the gem once you reach Seyrune, however--you might say I borrowed it without the owner's knowledge, and she would be quite…vexed if she were to discover it missing."

Something made a connection in Zelgadis' mind. "You mean Beastmaster Metallium, don't you? Your mistress? She hasn't found out that you're helping us yet?" 

Lina's ruby eyes widened. "You mean this gem belongs to _her?_ One of the four Dark Lords? Hmm…"

Zelgadis could see the greed growing on the petite sorceress' face, and judging from the alarmed look on Xellos' face, he could see it too. "N-now, Lina, please don't go getting any ideas about keeping the gem," the apparent man said uneasily, placing a hand on the back of his neck. "I can't allow that."

Lina gave Xellos a hard look, then astonished Zelgadis by switching mental gears--indeed, her very name, inverse=opposite/contrary--and said sweetly, "I wouldn't _dream _of keeping it, Xellos. I'll give it back as soon as we get to Seyrune--if you'll answer me _one_ little question."

Xellos, who had looked relieved at the beginning of her sentence, now stiffened suspiciously. "And…what would that be?"

"Why are you doing this?" 

"……" 

"Why would you risk antagonizing your mistress by helping a bunch of worthless humans like us?" Lina looked serious; Xellos looked as if he wanted to squirm away--and he did so. 

"Ah--that is a secret. Now, I really must be on my way--I'll meet you in Seyrune--" he said rapidly, and dematerialized before Lina could grab him.

__

He's gone again. Zelgadis knew he had missed out on asking Xellos about his cure, but he discovered that he was more relieved than dismayed at the mazoku's departure. 

Quietly, he watched the red-haired sorceress pound her fist on the wooden table. "Damn it, I hate it when he does that!" she said furiously. "Now I don't know whether or not to trust this stupid gem or pitch it in a lake. Who knows what Xellos is really up to?"

The stone man watched her silently for a few moments, his face thoughtful, and then he said, "Amelia has a theory that Xellos is fond of you."

"What?" Lina looked absolutely flabbergasted, her cheeks beginning to glow.

"At least, as much as a mazoku can like anybody. Or rather, he approves of the mayhem you cause wherever you go." Zelgadis noticed that Lina was finally speaking to him again, and decided not to call her attention to that fact. "So he acts to facilitate your activities, enjoying the chaos you tend to leave in your wake." Pensively, the chimera rubbed his index finger against his chin. "Perhaps he's interested in the results of your treasure hunts, too. He could be hoping you'll find some long-forgotten weapon of destruction the Ancients left behind." 

Lina's face had gone an interesting deep red color. She looked as if she couldn't decide whether to be insulted or embarrassed. "Amelia thinks he _likes_ me?" 

Zelgadis watched as Gourry's face took on a rare expression--a frown. The blonde swordsman pressed his lips together in a thin line and said, "I don't think we should use the gem, Lina. Xellos is nothing but trouble." 

"But, Gourry, we--" Lina broke off, staring at the face of the tall man sitting next to her. Zelgadis saw a look of comprehension dawn in her eyes. His own eyes widened as he watched Lina, the most skittish girl he had ever met, reach over to cup Gourry's cheek gently in her hand and say softly, "It's okay, Gourry. Don't worry about Xellos."

The blonde swordsman's hand came up and covered the small hand on his cheek, then pulled it down and wrapped his fingers around hers. He didn't say anything, but the soft look in his eyes 

was clear--he was very much in love with her. 

Instead of violently yanking her hand from Gourry's, as Zelgadis expected, Lina merely smiled at him reassuringly and continued, "And don't worry about the gem--we'll test it carefully before we use it--I promise." 

"Well, okay, Lina…" Gourry said, sounding as if he had reservations but was willing to trust the petite sorceress. Zelgadis remembered how much Gourry hated flying, since he always had to be carried by someone who was liable to drop him--especially in battle. 

So…Amelia was right about them, too. The stone man stared at his companions, his teal irises quivering slightly with emotion as he realized, _They've taken the final step, and admitted their feelings for each other. I've never seen either of them look at each other like that before! _

For a long minute he watched his two friends gaze into each other's eyes, until eventually he became uncomfortable, as if he were intruding on something private. Unconsciously he cleared his throat, breaking the moment, and had the satisfaction of seeing Lina react the way he was used to--she whipped her hand out of Gourry's and threw the chimera a look of near-panic. 

For a long moment Zelgadis stared at the couple, smirking, enjoying the tension in the air. He opened his mouth to say something snide, then hesitated, remembering the tender look they had shared, and sighed. _Who am I to ruin someone else's love life? Even Lina's, despite all she's put me through. _

He fixed his longtime companions with a solemn, sincere look and said simply, "Congratulations, you two."

Both of them looked surprised. Then, as his comment sank in, Zelgadis watched as Gourry smiled affectionately at Lina, who blushed fiercely and looked shyly down at the table, but, significantly, did not burst into flustered denials. 

"Thanks, Zelgadis," Gourry said after a moment, his tone quietly grateful. 

The stone man held his face still, but underneath a smirk was trying to escape. _But don't think you're safe from a little torment. Call it payback for all the obnoxious comments I've had to put up with from you about Amelia… Speaking of whom, she's taking longer than usual. I wonder if she's all right?_

*

The water-closet was a nice one. Amelia looked around the interior of the small two-story building, which was attached to one side of the stable, and sniffed. _It hardly smells at all. They must clean in here often. _

She noticed a small table in one corner that held a large pitcher of clean water, a cake of pale yellow soap and a white ceramic bowl for washing one's hands. A large wooden box against the opposite wall held a substantial quantity of clean, fresh-smelling cloth that had been cut into pieces just the right size for various uses. 

Her stomach twinged, reminding her of her recent discomfort, and she sighed and settled down to do her business over the long toilet-tube in the stone floor. 

Her stomach had been bothering her for the last couple of days. It didn't feel as if she was ill, however. _I think it's stress more than anything. Of course, when it's that time of the month you have to expect to feel a little off…but I can't stand having Zelgadis angry with me! I've been upset for days now; it's no wonder I'm not feeling well. _

She bowed her head, musing, _I don't know what to do. I've been trying to act mature, the way he likes, but it's really hard sometimes. It's helped me to keep from crying, though… I don't want the last impression he has of me to be of a wailing child--he'd avoid Seyrune for the rest of his life and I'd never see him again; I know it. And maybe, if I try really hard, maybe…maybe…he'll forgive me and use the Oracle's cure and let me marry him and make him a prince of Seyrune. _

As the young girl crouched miserably in the darkened chamber, tears quivered in the corners of her big blue eyes. The young princess' bright candle of optimism had ebbed drastically as the days passed and Zelgadis showed no signs of the warmth he had shared with her during their search for their missing friends. _What if he never opens up to me again? I couldn't bear it…_

"Oh, Zelgadis…" she whimpered aloud, but instantly bit her lip, holding it all in, fighting to keep her last shred of hope. _I can't give up now. Not so close to realizing my dream… I have to be strong, for him. I have to prove I'm worthy. We're almost there… There must be some way, somehow…_

For one brief, wild moment the girl contemplated seducing the chimera, of tempting him with her body--not this week, of course--even though she didn't have much understanding of exactly how a girl went about doing such a thing. _But he wouldn't respond, would he? He'd think I was brazen, and he'd scorn me…wouldn't he? _Her face became solemn. _And if he _did_ respond…what kind of man would that make him?_

A piece of her dark hair slid over her eye, distracting her. She stuck out her lower lip and blew upward, thinking, _I need a trim…but maybe I'll wait until after my wedding. My hair's nearly long enough now to put up… I wonder if Zelgadis likes long hair?_

She sighed and cleaned herself up, flushing the used cloths and other refuse down the tube, watching the brief torrent of water from the tank in the room above sweep it all away. _Not many places have flush water-closets--this inn must be very well-to-do. I wish I could flush all my problems away so easily._

Amelia poured some water from the pitcher into the deep ceramic bowl and reached for the yellow soap. She was pleased to discover that it was flower-scented; here and there she could see bright bits of flower petals in it--magenta, deep bluish-purple and dark yellow. As she washed her hands she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, resolving, _Well, one thing's for sure--I don't want to do _anything_ that might make Zelgadis uncomfortable. Even if I end up having to marry Kerrin, I want him to feel like he can visit me any time, to talk or play music or anything he wants…_

Now I'd better hurry, or my food will be gone. She exited the water-closet, which was attached to the side wall of the well-kept stable that Sunshine would be staying in that night, and jogged toward the inn's back door. She paused as she entered, letting her eyes get used to the darker light indoors, which wasn't really dark at all but it seemed so after the bright sunshine outside. As she stood there she became aware of a rather loud conversation at a nearby table. 

"So the wench says ta me," the crude male voice lifted into a mocking falsetto, "'Please, sir, I've got a husband and three children.'"

Another man laughed cruelly at this remark. The first man's voice continued, "So I smack her good for talking back ta me and then I says ta her, 'good, then mebbe you can do it right' and I put it to her hard, and she screamed and--"

"Oh!" Amelia stood there in shock, her eyes wide as she listened to the man's admission of guilt to one of the most barbaric crimes she knew of. "You--you--_villain!" _she sputtered, feeling the familiar blaze of justice ignite inside her, making her feel strong in a way she hadn't felt in a long time. 

Her skin glowed with the light of her aura. Once again she was a fierce warrior of justice! Conqueror of demons, mazoku, even Dark Lords--_no one _could stand against her, especially not the two unimposing human men who sat at the wooden table before her. 

She marched over to the table, which was the only one in the small area near the door, out of sight of most of the rest of the room, and stood glaring down at the two disreputable men sitting across from each other. "You…loathsome, despicable, vile piece of--filth!" she stormed at the man who'd confessed, suddenly aware of how few swear words she knew. "How could you _do_ such a thing!" 

Instead of cowering in fear as she expected, the men _grinned_ up at her, their eyes traveling over her body in a way that made her feel contaminated. They'd been in the midst of playing cards, and now the second man set his cards face-down on the table, and sneered at her with nasty brown teeth. 

"That's nuthin'," he jeered, "Last week I got me a sweet young thing, just 'bout to be married to a wealthy businessman. Fer some reason he decided not to marry her--don't know why--I taught her the facts of life good and proper! Haw haw haw!"

The other man guffawed crudely along with his companion. Amelia clenched her fists in front of her, almost literally seeing red from the force of her fury. _Never_ had she been so livid! Later she would realize that her almost senseless rage was probably the same kind of frenzy that seemed to govern Lina during those times that the redhead lost complete control of her temper. It made her reckless--and, at times, fatally unobservant.

Amelia drew in a deep breath and prepared to rant furiously at the men before pummeling them senseless, since she couldn't use her magic. She didn't notice one man's hand slide under the table. 

"For your crimes against innocent gi--urgk--" she choked, feeling a sudden hot, searing pain in her belly. Her gaze snapped down to see a fist pressed up against the front of her stomach, with the wooden hilt of a knife emerging from her tunic. 

************************************************************************

****

Author's Note: Gomen for leaving it at such an awful cliffhanger! ^__^ This chapter is a long one as it is! 

Now, I know what it looked like, but Gourry's not really the type to get jealous, especially about Xellos, though Lina may suspect it. But after everything that's happened to Lina over the last few weeks, he's become more protective of her than ever. 

For those of you who've lost track of time, (including me--I had to make up a timetable) it's now approximately a week and a half 'till Amelia's birthday/wedding. We're in the final stretch!

****

Slayers Otaku-Girl asks (about chapter 58) **: '**The last part where Shiran growled, was she mad at Lina or something?'

****

** She knew that Lina was threatening Zel. Even though the dragonwolf has been ordered to protect Lina in the past ( 'watch the sheep' ), Shiran still considers Zel and Amelia to be the most important ones, so she was warning Lina not to attack Zel. Even if Shiran had to attack her former 'sheep'.

WC's--(water-closets)--I'm guessing that the Slayers' world has semi-modern bathroom facilities. Some places would have smelly privies/outhouses, but some places--especially businesses like inns--could have flush toilets if you have a big container of water set above them--gravity does the job. No electricity needed. Of course in Japan many of the toilets would be those long tube-shaped things that you squat over, instead of sitting on a round porcelain oval. 

*Thanks for the names you've suggested so far for the flying craft! There have been some good ones…but so far none have been quite right. I realized over the past week that I would really like the name to reflect both the idea of flying on the wind, AND the subtheme of my fic--**music. **I like my names to have many layers of meanings, I guess. But bird names, for some reason, don't appeal to me, even though birds sing…but birds are alive. The craft-ship is more like a tool, something humans use to do or create. 

*Oh, by the way, I'm using my computer to make a personal wall calendar for 2004. I'd really like some fanpics to put on it, to be seen and admired by me and my friends. I would especially love to see pictures (or better yet, wallpapers with lavender orchids in the background!) of Shiran, since she is my own personal creation, not something I borrowed from Slayers. I like to show off, I guess… "See that calendar? That's a picture of a character in a story I'm writing, that someone liked enough to send me this awesome picture… Her name is Shiran. Isn't she lovely?" I have a few fanpics so far, but not enough to do a whole calendar, so if anyone out there has some free time and is good at drawing, onegai--and arigatou! ^__^ 


	60. Chapter 60: A Princess in Peril

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG-13 for swearing, and descriptions of bodily functions, rape and gory /violence.

****

Chapter Sixty: A Princess in Peril

There was no blood.

Amelia stared at the hand holding the knife in her stomach, and then slowly turned her gaze up toward the hand's owner. The pudgy, harmless-looking young man sneered at her in a way that made her more indignant than fearful. 

"You--beast--" she hissed, her breath coming shallowly from the pain. The man frowned at her as if disgruntled that she did not beg for mercy, and viciously jerked his knife out of her body, ruthlessly twisting his knife hand as he did so to open a wide gash in her stomach. Amelia staggered back against the wall, crying out as white agony lanced through her belly, though her shriek was faint and breathless, and went unheard in the riotous din of the crowd. 

Instinctively she put a protective hand over the raw wound, feeling the sickeningly familiar sensation of hot, sticky blood coming out of her. She stood on shaky legs, gasping shallowly for several seconds, trying to block out the pain so she could cast a healing spell. 

To her surprise, instead of continuing their attack, the men ignored her, as if she had become of no consequence. They began to gather their cards together from among the dirty dishes on the table. The fat one who had stabbed Amelia made a scornful 'tch' sound and sneered, "That'll teach 'er, uppity wench. Stupid sluts don't know their place." 

The other man laughed contemptuously, "You got that right, brother! We should go after the one that came in with this one an' teach her, too." 

"What other one?"

"This little redhead, came in with two guys who looked like swordsmen."

The fat man showed the first signs of fear, sitting up straight in his seat, which faced away from the front door of the inn. "Swordsmen? Why din't ya tell me that earlier?" 

"Dunno. I was mostly lookin' at the redhead…"

"Shit! Let's get outta here before they come lookin' for her--" 

Amelia closed her eyes, only dimly aware of the men as they scrambled from their seats and rushed through the back door toward the stable, feeling the long slippery-hot gash in her stomach leaking blood all over her hand and saturating her tunic. She focused her attention inward, trying, straining to use her newly-enhanced healing powers to close the terrible jagged rip in her belly, clenching her teeth in the effort not to scream from the searing agony. 

The pain eased, and she relaxed, though she was aware of some dizziness, probably from the blood loss. She kept her eyes closed for now, knowing that if she opened them black spots would be swimming in front of them. She could hear the faint sounds of hoof beats outside, as the men made their escape, and smiled grimly. _They won't get away that easily._ She brought her free hand up to wipe her sweaty face and let the other hand drop away from where the wound had been. It was still sticky, but it did not occur to her to wonder why for several seconds. 

Suddenly, over the crowd's noise, she heard a terrifying animal howl. Amelia's eyes popped open, staring down for one horrific instant at the ghastly bright red mess all over her tunic before her vision went dark. She didn't realize she was falling until her knees painfully hit the floor, and her arms reflexively went out to keep from her falling the rest of the way. Then her stomach began to burn anew, and as she instinctively put up one hand to cover it, she _did_ fall, landing heavily on one shoulder and cracking her head with a sickening thud on the wooden floor.

Simultaneously her ward bracelet lit up with a glow so dazzling that she could see it even through her closed eyelids. _No, _she whimpered in her mind as she felt a new rush of hot blood pouring into her hand, _I don't want this…I don't…want to bother…Zelgadis…_

Zelgadis had heard Amelia's raised voice for a few seconds over the crowd's din, but had

recognized the tone--her justice-lecturing mode--and had tuned her out. For a few moments everything was normal, but then the chimera had begun to glance around tensely, sensing danger, but seeing nothing to account for it. 

Then, just as he lowered his mask to eat the food in front of him, Shiran had howled--an ear-splitting, fearsome howl of rage/fear/anguish, and had burst out from under the table to bound across the room. There was instant chaos. People everywhere screamed as the huge lavender beast with glowing green eyes and fierce white fangs rammed whoever was misfortunate enough to get in her way.

"What's going on?" Lina yelled above the crowd's hysteria. 

Zelgadis was on his feet about to follow Shiran when the ward bracelet on his canteen burst into a brilliant white light. Waves of pain/fear/distress cascaded over him, causing him to stagger momentarily, though he felt no actual physical pain. He knew the source instantly. "Amelia!" he whispered hoarsely, and took off after the dragonwolf, his hood flying back off of his hair. 

A table was in his way. Without hesitation he leaped up onto it, scattering dishes and food all over the place, causing the table's occupants to shriek in terror as he continued on, bounding from table to table, leaving a trail of ruined food and broken crockery in his wake. He was dimly aware that his friends were following him, but the overwhelming terror that something had happened to Amelia drove him to utilize his full chimeric powers in his effort to reach her in time, leaving his two companions behind. _Not again! Not again! _his heart shrieked within him. 

It took him mere seconds to blaze a path from one end of the long room to the other, but by the time he turned the corner his heart was in his mouth, his eyes wide with fear. That fear was dreadfully justified at the horrific sight which greeted him. _"Amelia!" _he cried out, his agonized voice a terrible thing to hear. 

The young girl was alone, curled into a ball on the floor, her eyes closed, a pool of redness rapidly spreading under her. Her skin was chalk-white, her lips and fingernails blue from shock and blood loss. Her ward bracelet was blasting white light like the beacon it was. 

A frantic Shiran was trying to get at the wound, her tongue making licking motions as she whined and thrust her large head at the girl's stomach. She only succeeded in smearing vivid red blood all over her lavender fur. 

Zelgadis caught Amelia's cry of pain from Shiran's frenetic ministrations. "Back, Shiran!" he bellowed, dropping to his knees beside the girl and shoving the animal's huge head aside. He grasped the girl carefully by her shoulders and lifted her onto his lap on her back. She was as

limp as a rag doll, with her head lolling to the side and her arms trailing on the floor. The sharp metallic stench of blood flooded his nose as he frantically scanned her red-soaked midsection, searching for the source of the blood, and spotted the long jagged slash in her tunic on the right side, just below her ribs. 

Amelia's eyes fluttered open. "Zel-gadis," she whispered, her breathing coming in ragged, painful gasps. In the harsh white light from the ward bracelets, her face looked as ghastly-pale as death. 

__

NO! She can't die on me again. She can't! The chimera held his right hand just above the terrible wound while continuing to support her shoulders with his left arm. "Don't try to talk, Amelia," he said fervently, his hands already glowing with white healing light. 

She shocked him by feebly trying to push his hand away. "Don't--worry about me. I'll--be okay. I'll--do it. You don't--have to--"

What is she doing? he thought in horror. He ignored her weakly shoving hands and kept the spell aimed at her injured stomach, putting forth all his effort, bringing a sheen of rare sweat to his stone forehead as he willed that horrible red stain to vanish. 

Slowly, it did. First Amelia's ragged breathing began to smooth out, and her body grew less tense as her pain eased. By the time he realized that Lina's hands were also hovering over Amelia's body, the sickening red stain on her pale cream tunic was receding, as the blood was absorbed back into her body. Gourry was nearby, his arms around the furry neck of the struggling dragonwolf to keep her out of the way. 

Gradually, the glaring lights from the ward bracelets faded out. Zelgadis and Lina continued to bathe the princess in healing magic until every last trace of red was gone from her tunic, and her face began to resume its normal coloring. 

Lina checked the girl's stomach through the tear in the tunic to make sure the wound was completely gone, then sat back on her heels as Zelgadis continued to hold the young princess, waiting for her to regain consciousness. "Thank the gods," she breathed, putting a hand over her heart, which was still racing from the sudden fright of nearly losing the girl she thought of as a sister. _What's going on?_ _Who did this, and why?_ _Are they still here? …Maybe we'd better get Amelia away from here--she doesn't look like she'll be waking up anytime soon. _

She suddenly became aware of the ring of people around them, whose faces were uniformly full of concern and curiosity. "Zel," she said abruptly, causing him to notice the crowd for the first time, "Why don't I take her up to our room so she can rest for a while?" 

He looked her in the eye, and nodded, understanding immediately that Lina wanted to move Amelia someplace more easily guarded while she recovered. Also, while theoretically healed, a person who had had a very serious injury needed rest and some nourishing food to recuperate from the substantial energy loss, since the spell worked by tapping into the wounded person's own natural healing process, speeding it up, forcing the wound(s) to heal before their injur(ies) could kill them. 

Suddenly the midnight-haired girl stirred, whimpering, "Zelgadis?" in a tiny voice. 

"I'm here," he murmured reassuringly, expecting to see her beautiful blue gaze upon him once more. Instead, the young girl lay limply in his arm--she did not move or speak or even open her eyes, and her expression slowly became forlorn, anguished, distressed. 

Her friends exchanged alarmed glances. "Amelia, are you all right? Are you still in pain?" Lina demanded anxiously. 

"What's wrong, Amelia?" Zelgadis felt a jolt of apprehension at her atypical apathy. 

Amelia opened her eyes as if spurred by the fear in his voice and looked up at him for a brief, heart-rending moment, the blue of her eyes shadowed by tears, and then turned her head toward the wall, refusing to meet his gaze. "I'm…fine." Her voice sounded hollow, distant. "I'm sorry…"

Now all three of her friends exchanged bewildered glances. Lina scowled. "What _happened, _Amelia? Who _did_ this to you?" 

Just then Gourry released Shiran, who immediately approached Amelia and snuffled her newly-healed belly--rather zealously--causing the girl to twitch in Zelgadis' arms as the animal's nose tickled her, an involuntary smile brightening her face. 

Then Shiran stuck her face into Amelia's and licked it vigorously, as if to show her gladness and relief that her bonded one was all right. Amelia's hand came up to brush at her face, pushing the dragonwolf's slender muzzle aside. "Ptah!" she commented, sticking her tongue out. Then she reached up and took Shiran's furry, bloodstained head in her hands. "Oh, Shirry… It's all right. I'm okay." Zelgadis was very glad to hear the familiar note of affectionate cheerfulness in her tone. 

"So what happened to you? Who attacked you? Was it a mazoku?" Lina shot the questions rapid-fire at the young princess. "Xellos was just here…" she added, her ruby eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Amelia caught the look. "Oh, no, it wasn't him! It was…well…two men. They're gone now…" she mumbled, a band of pink appearing over her nose.

"Men? _Humans?" _Lina looked surprised. 

"I know." Amelia looked down and away from Zelgadis, who was still holding her in his lap. Her wound was fully healed, her clothes free of blood, but somehow after that scare he was unwilling to let go of her. One of his arms still supported her upper back, having automatically adjusting to her squirming upright when Shiran had tickled her. 

"I should have kept my guard up. I was a fool to think that normal humans weren't dangerous." Her voice was filled with something only Zelgadis had ever heard from her before--self-recrimination, and he knew that if he could see her face, if would be filled with shame. 

"And even more of a fool to forget that I can't use magic today, because of--" She broke off, her face going from pink to a deep red, including her ears, which were visible to the chimera through her hair. Zelgadis suddenly realized what she meant, and knew his own face was betraying him with its blush. They avoided looking at each other, as Lina also averted her eyes and Gourry looked from one to another of his friends, bewildered. 

After a few moments Amelia began to stand up, but as she did so she staggered sideways. Zelgadis was behind her instantly, catching her gently just before she banged into the wall, with one arm around her upper back and the other lightly gripping her forearm to stabilize her. "Hold on, Amelia," he said in concern, "You're still weak. You've lost a lot of blood." He avoided looking at the sticky pool of drying blood nearby.

"No, I'm fine," the girl protested, quivering on shaky legs. "Just a little dizzy--it'll go away in a minute."

Lina frowned at the two of them for a moment, then spoke up. "Look, Amelia, we don't have time to wait for you to recover--if we want to get these guys, we've gotta move now. I think you should stay here and rest while we go hunt them down." 

Zelgadis met Lina's eyes for a brief moment, and he knew she could see the overwhelming indecision in his. His fury at those who had hurt Amelia had been pushed to the back of his mind while she was healing, but now that she was better he wanted nothing more than to find those man and take out his growing urge for vengeance upon their deserving hides. 

__

And yet--she looks so weak, so shaky. What if something happens while I'm gone? Suppose those men come back? 

"Zel, why don't you stay here with Amelia in case she needs anything?" Zelgadis caught the ominous glitter in her ruby eyes, and recognized Lina's trademark mayhem lurking within. Her voice deepened as a smirk of pure menace appeared on her face. "Gourry and I can take care of those--bastards. I promise you--they won't die quickly." 

The chimera nodded, swallowing. He recalled that this small girl was known as the Bandit Killer. _Lina can be one of the most brutal people I've ever known. But in this case, they deserve it. To carve up an innocent girl…_

His own face hardened and he nodded curtly. "Fine. You take care of them. Take Shiran with you--she'll be able to trail them by scent."

Amelia pushed Zelgadis' arms away with a shaky hand. "Come on, everyone, I'm okay, really. I--"

"No!" both Lina and Zelgadis retorted, making her wince. She hesitated, then heaved a big sign of resignation, rolling her eyes but otherwise giving in gracefully. It wasn't often that Zelgadis took Lina's side, but he was mollified by the princess' acquiescence, as well as Lina's unexpected support. 

Gourry spoke up. "What did they look like, so we don't get the wrong ones by mistake?" The grim set of his face left no doubt that this fun-loving young man had once made his living as a hired mercenary. Amelia looked up at him with wide eyes, looking troubled by his transformation, then grudgingly gave a description of the two men. 

"We know those two," said a woman in a blue dress who was standing at the edge of the crowd, at the border where the little room opened up into the main room. 

Another woman in brown added, "They've been preying on women in the area for months now."

They must be the bandits we were warned about before we arrived, Zelgadis realized, and judging from the look on Lina's face, she'd caught the reference as well. 

A man stepped forward. "Not just women--they've been robbing other travelers, too. My cousin got beat up real bad. But they always say it wasn't them, and nobody's been able to prove it. They usually don't leave witnesses, and them that do survive is too scared to come back here for a trial." 

Zelgadis almost asked why none of the women ever came forward, since the statement of the woman in brown seemed to suggest that the criminals left them alive. _Of course--who wants to admit to being violated? Many men would turn away a woman known to have been so 'despoiled', even if it wasn't her choice. _

Then a shocking thought hit him. _Amelia! Did they--did they try to--and when she fought them they-- _His hands clenched into stone fists and he almost changed his mind about going after them himself, but a glance at Amelia cooled his temper. Her righteous spirit was there in her flashing eyes, but her face was still far too pale for his comfort--she looked as if she were fighting to keep from passing out. He watched her take a deep breath.

"They're guilty, all right!" Amelia said in her ringing tone of justice, "I heard them confessing to their awful assaults on women, and _laughing_ about it! And when I confronted them, they tried to kill me! They shall pay for their evil deeds or my name's not Amelia wil--"

"Okay, good! _There's_ your witness, everyone." Lina stood up to her full diminutive height, and Gourry took his place next to her, towering over her, yet somehow the differences in their heights were not incongruous. _Lina's personality always makes her seem like a giant, _Zelgadis thought wryly, used to her dramatic posing. 

"Gourry and I are going to go after them. _Nobody _attacks one of my friends and gets away with it!" Lina declared vehemently, practically radiating righteous violence. 

Most of the crowd scuttled back a few steps, intimidated by her attitude, but one little old lady spoke up. "Be careful, m'dear."

Lina flashed her a bright smile and turned to the princess and the chimera. "Okay, how do we get Shiran to track them?"

"Have her sniff the table and chairs and tell her to…hunt the…sheep?" Zelgadis guessed, turning to look at Amelia, who suddenly grinned at him and tried to hide it behind her hand. He stared at her in puzzlement for a moment before he caught his unintentional reference, and his own lips twitched in amusement. 

Lina looked from one to the other. "What?"

"Private joke," Zelgadis kept his face straight. _I'm not about to tell her that we had Shiran track them by calling them 'sheep'. _

Lina looked back and forth between them with a slight frown, one fine orange eyebrow quirked as if she didn't believe Zelgadis was capable of making jokes, but thankfully she let the subject drop--for now, anyway.

Amelia smile faded. "I think Shiran would understand better if we called them…wolves." Her voice was subdued now, and Zelgadis understood why. _Men who prey upon others…_

Shiran was duly instructed to 'hunt the wolves' and given the opportunity to smell the bandits' scents. She growled, a deep, throbbing sound of menace which caused the crowd to back away from her, baring her fangs as her hackles raised into lavender-tipped fur spikes. 

"Looks like she understands her job," Lina commented with satisfaction. "Now if she'll just--hey!"

The huge dragonwolf had leaped out through the still-open back door, following the scents to the stable. "Come on, Gourry, shake a leg!" Lina dashed after Shiran, and Gourry hastily followed. 

"Hey, Lina, wait for me!"

No one stirred until the commotion in the yard died away. Most of the crowd began drifting back to their tables, some already calling for fresh drinks and food. The waiters and waitresses scurried around, cleaning up the mess Zelgadis and the others had left in their wake in their rush to save their friend. 

Two women stayed--the one in blue, and the little old lady who had told Lina to take care. The old woman smiled somewhat grimly at Amelia. "I hope your friends catch them--my daughter got had by them a while back and hasn't been the same since. They're vicious, those men. "

Amelia smiled back reassuringly. "Don't worry, Miss Lina is ah…what you might call a professional bandit hunter. She knows how to take care of herself." 

"Lina _Inverse? _The Bandit-Killer?" Zelgadis noted how the women's faces brightened, instead of becoming fearful or suspicious. 

"The very same." Amelia nodded.

"Bless her!" The old woman took Amelia's hands in hers, her old eyes shining. "And thank you _all_ for coming here to rid us of this terrible scourge!" 

As she hobbled away, the other woman stepped forward, her manner deferential but exuding deep gratefulness. "Excuse me…My name is Momoko." 

Zelgadis gave her a second look, noting the smile lines around her mouth, the thick black hair worn piled on top of her head, and her beautiful dark blue eyes. _I wonder if Amelia will look like her when she gets older._

Momoko continued, "My husband and I own this inn. We would be honored if you would accept a room for the night, and we will make sure to save a room for your valorous friends. Our finest rooms--no charge."

Zelgadis traded glances with Amelia. "Oh, you don't have to," Amelia protested weakly.

"I didn't do anything…" 

Except take a knife in the gut. Zelgadis' face hardened. "Amelia, you should get some more rest. Lina and Gourry could be gone for hours, so we might as well settle in for the night." 

"But…oh, all right. But I want to take care of Sunshine at least; put her in the stable…" As she slowly made her way across the room, Zelgadis noticed how quickly she had given in; it wasn't like her. He also observed how people made way for her, as if she were someone important. It was like, and yet unlike, the way some people avoided him, with their suspicious glances, quickly averted. 

Now that he thought about it, this particular crowd didn't seem to have any trouble accepting his appearance, thankfully. He recalled that it had been similar back in the old days when he'd traveled with Lina's party--people had tended to treat him as just one of the group. There was just something about being part of a group--the acceptance his friends extended toward him was somehow reassuring to other people. Or maybe he had simply felt less self-conscious, being only one of many. And after seeing the way his friends ate, some people had actually seen _him_ as the most normal one, sometimes…

Amelia's steps slowed further, and she began to totter. Zelgadis watched in concern as she bumped into the edge of a heavy wooden table and lurched forward. In three quick bounds he had caught up to her and scooped her into his arms. She protested weakly, "Mister Zelgadis!" 

"I'll take care of Sunshine, Amelia. I want to put you to bed before you fall." 

"Don't worry about your horse, miss." A boy stood up from his seat. "I'll take care of her for you. She's the palomino, right? The one tied out front?" 

"Yes. Thank you…" The girl's eyes were closing already. It was obviously taking what little energy she had left to respond to what was going on around her. 

Zelgadis turned to the hostess with Amelia carefully cradled in his arms, his arms under her back and knees, and gave the woman a questioning glance. Momoko nodded. "Come, I will lead you to your room, and then bring up some good, nourishing beef broth. It will give you strength."

"Oh, that's all right--you don't have to go to all that trouble--" Amelia's voice trailed off as her stomach growled warningly. 

"Your stomach says otherwise, Amelia," Zelgadis commented, his voice deepening in amusement, trying to hide the smile that wanted to emerge. She gave him a sour look, but did not protest again. 

The stone man became pensive. _It's lucky she _hadn't _eaten anything, the way things turned out. She had a hard enough time healing at it was; imagine if she'd had a stomach full of food… _He closed his eyes as if to block such an awful picture from his mind, having seen just such a thing happen to one of his men in the past. The healing spell they'd tried hadn't worked right, and the man's agony was so great that Zelgadis had felt it necessary to put the man out of his misery. 

Amelia apparently resigned herself to being carried, as she relaxed against him, placing one of her hands against his chest and resting her cheek against his hard shoulder. He glanced down at her tenderly. _It's at times like these that I want to protect her so much… She tries, but she simply lacks the kind of suspicion one needs to survive in this world. But all the same, I hope she never loses it. If she did, she wouldn't be the Amelia I know and l--_

He blinked and made as if to shake his head to get rid of such a treacherous thought, but he didn't want to disturb the girl in his arms and perhaps scratch her with his hair, so he desisted.

********************************************************************

****

Author's Notes: Before anybody says anything, Amelia can't use her powers during her time of the month, any more than Lina can. But Lina can cast light spells during that time, and so I figure with Amelia's enhanced white magic she could at least do something about the pain, though healing the wound herself is beyond her, for now. The sudden shock of being stabbed--not just the physical pain but the utterly _casual_ way the man did it--made her forget that her powers were temporarily out of action and instinctively try to heal herself. 

Normally being stabbed isn't too serious for a magic user anyway, since magic readily closes such wounds, as long as the person isn't unconscious or has something else preventing the use of magic, which is why Amelia wasn't really afraid at first. The ward bracelet reacts both to fear and to life-threatening peril, which took a couple of minutes to become acute. 

Of course, Shiran knew Amelia was in trouble because she smelled the blood, which also took a minute or so to filter through the long, crowded room to her nose.


	61. Chapter 61: Fire Melts Ice

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

PG rating

****

Chapter Sixty-One: Fire Melts Ice 

Amelia, half-asleep, hid her blushing face in Zelgadis' shoulder. _I can't believe this is happening to me, _she thought unhappily._ First I end up needing to be rescued, and now Zelgadis is carrying me up to bed like a little child. 'Put you to bed', he said, as if I was five years old. And then I even blurted out that I have my time of the month! I'm so embarrassed…_

The gentle rocking motion of being carried was soothing, however, and the exhausted young princess was asleep before they were halfway down the long building. The hostess, Momoko, led them to one of the two rooms at the very end of the inn and opened the door. "Here we are…I hope you will be comfortable. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask, all right? I will send up some broth as soon as possible."

"Thank you, madam…you've been most kind," Zelgadis said sincerely, vividly remembering other occasions where the inn that they were staying at had been demolished--usually by Lina--and the not-so-happy attitudes of the owners afterward. 

The hostess left them. For a moment Zelgadis hesitated, as a sudden image of a newly-married groom carrying his wife over the threshold of their honeymoon room appeared in his mind. It reminded him of the 'wedding' dream he'd had back at the palace, and how radiantly happy Amelia had looked in her wedding dress. 

After a long moment, he blushed and entered, looking around. The room was simply furnished, with a pair of beds with matching pale green blankets, a table with two chairs, an empty shelf and some hooks on the wall for storage. Zelgadis wondered where to put Amelia while he turned down the bedsheets, but fortunately they were already done. He carried her to the bed and set her down gently, laying her head on the pillow, straightening her limbs into comfortable positions. 

Then he took a chair from the table, moved it in between the two beds and sat down, simply waiting, not thinking about much at all, just watching her sleep. He did not realize that his mental numbness was a reaction to the emotional shock of nearly losing her. At first the princess' face had a shadow of pain over it, but soon it smoothed out as she slipped into a deeper, healing slumber. 

Time passed and the chimera relaxed, almost hypnotized by the peaceful ambience that seemed to exist between the two of them when they were alone together. He only became aware of his surroundings when there was a quiet knock on the door. 

"Sir, I've brought you some food," Momoko called softly.

Only then did he realize that he'd been sitting in a nearly-dark room, listening to Amelia breathe rather than watching her face. He stood up from between the beds and made his way to the door, opening it cautiously, squinting at the sudden brightness from the lantern that hung on the kindly hostess' arm. Enticing smells wafted from the delicious-looking cuisine on the tray that she held, making Zelgadis realize that he had never gotten to eat, either. 

"Thank you," he said as he reached to take the heavily-laden tray from her. _Plenty for both of us to eat, by the look of it--the inn's finest fare. _

"I hope everything is to your liking." Momoko bowed slightly, glancing sideways at Amelia. "How is she ?" she murmured.

Zelgadis set the tray down on the table. "She's resting. She'll be fine in a little while." 

"It must have been a terrible shock for the poor girl." The woman nodded understandingly as she reached up and hung the oil lamp on a hook in the ceiling, giving the room a cozy yellow glow. "To be whole one moment, and have your life in danger the next." 

The chimera's mind was suddenly filled with images of Amelia in past battles, wounded--or worse--reliving the horror that someone he cared about was about to be taken from him, until the hostess' voice brought him out of his reverie.

"She's a brave girl, to try to stop men like those," Momoko's tone was both respectful and affectionate. "There aren't many who would." She smiled and nodded politely to the stone man as she left the room, closing the door with a soft click. 

Zelgadis stood there for a while. "No," he said finally, his voice echoing slightly in the quiet room, "there aren't."

He walked back to the bed to look down at the sleeping girl, his face reflecting wry affection, and a touch of regret. As he watched, several strands of her midnight hair lifted into the air, fluttering on the breeze from the open window, and it occurred to him that he should probably cover her with the blanket. He did so, pulling it up from the end of the bed and tucking it loosely around her shoulders under her chin. Then he walked around her bed over to the open window and lowered it by two thirds to reduce whatever breeze might be blowing in, since he couldn't feel it and didn't want Amelia to get a chill. 

He noticed that the nightly chorus of insect singing had already begun. _It's twilight already, and Lina and Gourry aren't back yet? _He wasn't particularly worried about their ability to handle two mere bandits, especially with Shiran along._ Either those men had a really good head start or they're taking their time returning… _When his mind supplied him with some rather interesting ideas on what his relatively…energetic…comrades might be doing together, Zelgadis blushed and turned to the tray of food to distract himself. _It's one thing to _tease _Lina about it, but I don't think I really want to picture them _doing_ anything…_

He picked up an apple and bit into it, breaking the room's silence with a sharp crunch. _There aren't many girls like Amelia, or Lina, _he thought, resuming his previous train of thought. _Both of them seem so strong, so full of fighting spirit--almost indestructible, until something like this happens and suddenly they're as fragile as everyone else…like butterflies, delicate and beautiful. _

He munched thoughtfully on his apple, alternating with sips of the rich meat-and-vegetable stew, gazing down at the small raven-haired girl, and felt a surge of protectiveness rise within him. _They shouldn't have to fight. _She_ shouldn't have to. _

As he finished the fruit and wiped his hands with the damp cloth in small the porcelain bowl on the edge of the tray, he thought regretfully, _Ah, Amelia, if only I could make the world safe for you. _Something about that sounded familiar to him. Slowly it dawned on him that he was more or less quoting Amelia herself. _Except she wants to make the world safe for everyone._ _I guess I do understand how she feels. _

He smiled affectionately down at her. _Even though it's an unrealistic goal, she'll never stop trying. _His smile vanished as a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature passed over him. _Not until someone stops her--permanently. _

He wondered that the smell of the food had not awakened her. _Now that I think about it, she's been asleep a long time. Is something wrong? _

She looked all right, but his nerves had been through too much today to stay sanguine. He set one hard blue hand on her small shoulder and shook gently, murmuring, "Amelia. Amelia, wake up." 

She didn't move. He shook her again, a bit harder this time, and said in a louder, commanding tone, tinged with urgency, "Amelia. I need you to wake up now. Please." Finally she stirred and opened her eyes, blinking sleepily up at him. He watched her tensely, waiting for her to reassure him that she was all right. 

"Oh," she said ruefully, "I guess I still need some more sword practice." 

The stone man experienced a sudden burst of emotions: his concern evaporated into glad relief that she was all right, her odd comment, so typically Amelia, struck him as funny, and he was seized with an overwhelming desire to embrace her. His whirling emotions finally found an outlet: he laughed. 

Amelia's eyes widened as the ever-somber chimera suddenly let out a quick, loud boom of a laugh, his face becoming in that instant that of a much younger man, one who'd known joy as well as sorrow. 

His mirth ended quickly, but it was as if a door--or a wall--inside him had burst open. He sat down on the edge of her bed, and with a brilliant smile of undisguised affection he reached out and gently cupped her cheek, caressing it with his thumb, his touch as delicate as the wind. "Oh, Amelia. You really _do_ need someone to look after you." 

His voice was deep and rich, filled with the love he could not express, could not acknowledge, even to himself. Amelia's flicker of irritation at his statement was more than quelled by the wonderfully sweet, tender tone his voice had taken on, as if it had been dipped in honey. 

Amelia sat up in bed, and her hand came up to cover his. "Are you volunteering?" she murmured daringly, her own voice becoming deeper as a sudden rush of breathless passion rose within her. She wondered if he could hear her pounding heart, which had gone into instant overdrive the moment he'd touched her. 

Zelgadis drew in a breath as he stared into the endless deep blue eyes of the girl sitting so close to him, eyes like liquid jewels, shining, quivering, filled with unconditional love and longing and hope… He stiffened, fighting the overwhelming desire to pledge to stay with her, to protect her for the rest of his life, no matter what… 

Feeling as if he was tearing out his own heart, he pulled his hand from Amelia's grasp and stood up, facing away from her. He hung his head, his hands clenched into fists at his sides to stop their trembling as he ground out, "I can't, Amelia. I…I just can't. I'm sorry…"

He heard her whimper, a sound that pierced his heart like an arrow. He blinked, feeling his eyes sting with unaccustomed tears, and in desperation to ward off this whole painful scene, he asked the one question that had been in the back of his mind since he'd rescued her. "Why did you try to keep me from healing you?"

As he'd hoped, his query threw her into confusion, forcing her to think past her pain, to remember what he was referring to. Finally, almost inaudibly, she said, "I didn't want to be a bother."

Shocked, he whirled to face her. _"What?"_

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she responded, "I don't want you to think of me as a child." 

Zelgadis stared at her with his mouth open, trying to make sense of her non sequitur. "What does being wounded have to do with you being a child?"

__

"I am not_ a child!" _

He actually flinched at her incredible vehemence, gaping at her with wide teal eyes, shocked by the sudden terrible mixture of rage and anguish on her face. She continued fiercely, "I don't want you to baby me; I want you to love me! _And you never will _as long as you insist on seeing me as a child!" she raged at him, truly awesome in her fury. Her eyes flashed like blue lightning, and her raven hair lifted into the air, soaring on the invisible wind of her aura. 

She was breathtakingly beautiful.

Their gazes locked. For a moment the two of them stared at each other, the one all fire and fury, the other frozen in more ways than one, but rapidly thawing under the heat of her gaze. 

Amelia instantly became aware of the change in his eyes. It was the same expression she'd seen once before, after the concert, when they'd said good night outside her bedroom door. Zelgadis was looking at her and seeing _her, _Amelia the woman, not the spoiled, unattainable princess, nor the innocent young girl-child who had been his trusty companion for so long. His face held undisguised awe, admiration, desire, soothing the hurt he'd inflicted with his earlier comment. 

Gradually she calmed down and her hair settled around her face, its ends just brushing her shoulders. She gazed up at him as she sat amidst the blankets, trying to show every last bit of her fierce love and longing for him in her face, willing him to accept it--and her--for once and for all. 

His blue-green eyes quivered with emotion as he stared into hers, and he took a step toward her.

Her breath caught and her heart leaped into her throat as the young princess held out her arms to her love, her face shining with gladness, relief, adoration. The stone man's arms moved toward her as he took another step toward her bed…but then he stopped.

NO! Amelia watched in anguish as his expression shifted from glad tenderness to agonized indecision. His blue hands began to tremble violently. Slowly he clenched them and brought them in against his chest, bowing his head, his eyes tightly shut. Again he turned his back to her, standing with bowed shoulders as if the weight of the world was upon them. 

A spear of grief pierced her heart, cutting far more deeply than the knife had. _Why?_ she wailed inside. _You _do_ want me--I could see it! Why won't you let me love you? _Heartbroken, Amelia slowly let her arms drop to the blankets. 

She ached too badly for the release of tears. Her face slowly lost all animation, becoming somber, as she gazed at the chimera's back with dry eyes. 

Zelgadis looked as if he felt as badly as she did, his whole posture displaying misery and defeat. 

"There's…something stopping you, isn't there?" she asked quietly, knowing it was true. She watched him stiffen at her words, and continued, "Miss Lina thinks you're under some kind of geis--that you got a cure from the Oracle but can't use it or something terrible will happen." 

Zelgadis hesitated, then relaxed somewhat and agreed soberly, "Something like that." 

Suddenly her emotions came back in a rush. "Well, what is it?" she asked desperately. "Maybe we can help--"

__

"Please." The chimera suddenly turned to face her holding his hands up with his palms facing her. "Please…don't. Don't keep…hoping… There's nothing anyone can do." He closed his eyes momentarily as a look of deep pain passed over his stone features. "I just…have to work it out on my own." 

She stared at him, and finally felt the tears come, trickling down her cheeks no matter how she tried to hold them back. "But…you won't be ready in time, will you?" It was more of a statement than a question, her voice trembling like a leaf in the wind.

Zelgadis lowered his eyes. "It's not very likely." 

The deep, genuine regret on his face was the last straw. Amelia broke down, burying her face in her hands and weeping bitterly, hating herself for embarrassing him but unable to stop. "I'm sorry," she sobbed brokenly, "I'm sorry." 

The bed frame creaked and the mattress depressed as Zelgadis sat down next to her and put a hard, comforting arm around her shoulders. For a while he simply sat there, silently offering her solace as she poured out her long-repressed anguish, and when her tears had finally run their course, he gave her a small squeeze and released her, offering her one of the cloth napkins from the food tray. Nodding in thanks, she turned away to clean herself up, feeling a little better inside, as if some of the tension had been washed away in her tears. 

When she turned back to face him, Zelgadis looked troubled. "'Sorry' for what?" he asked softly. _"I _should be apologizing to _you, _for letting you down, for letting you think there was hope…"

A sharp pain of loss twinged in her heart, but doggedly she explained, "I don't--want to make you uncomfortable." She spoke in jerks through the sob reflex. "You don't like--j-juvenile behavior." 

His teal eyes widened. "Is _that _why you've been acting so strange lately? Everyone's been worrying about you--you haven't been your normal cheerful self for weeks." 

She nodded. "I wanted to--act more grown up for you." 

"Oh, Amelia." She felt his warm, hard hand slide under her chin, lifting her face to meet his gaze. His eyes were quivering with emotion. "Amelia…don't ever change. Not for me, not for anybody." His voice was low, passionate, sincere. "You are _perfect_--just the way you are. Believe me!" 

There could be no mistaking the look in his eyes. Amelia felt herself falling into those blue-green depths, responding to his sudden intensity--and her own long-withheld desire. The raven-haired girl leaned up to kiss him, and knew from his expression that he would not turn his face away this time…

The sound of the door opening startled both of them. Zelgadis leaped up from the bed and into the chair nearby just as a young chambermaid with freckles and orange hair in two long thick braids walked in with an armful of clean sheets. "Oh! Hello," she said in cheerful surprise. "I didn't know anyone was using this room. I just came back from town."

"Uh, well, yes, we are," Amelia stammered awkwardly, glancing at Zelgadis, who was facing away from the girls. Amelia noticed that the tips of his ears were blushing.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your stay here. This is our best room--it has a lovely view of the flower meadow next door--in daylight, that is," the girl laughed. "Shall I change the sheets for you? Those ones are due to be aired out."

"Oh, no…they smell fine." Amelia found herself liking this perky young girl, who reminded her of herself from a few years back. "Thanks anyway."

"Just let me know if you need anything." The maid bowed and left, giving Amelia a wink and a nod of approval in Zelgadis' direction. Amelia blushed, wondering what the girl thought they had been doing, but also pleased to see that the girl thought the stone man was attractive. 

She found herself gazing appraisingly at Zelgadis, admiring his slender, graceful form, his delicately pointed ears, his shining silvery-blue hair. Light from the oil lamp flowed over his stone skin like water, making her want to touch him, to glide her fingers over his warm silky-smooth blue skin… 

He noticed her looking at him and turned to face her, his eyes widening as he realized what she was doing. _How can she look at me like that? _he thought wonderingly. _Does being in love blind you so completely to the loved one's faults? _Her gaze was both adoring and admiring; he needed no words to see that she thought he was wonderful, sexy, loveable.

He couldn't help smiling a little. _She's pretty wonderful herself. _He also realized that this might very well be the last time they were ever alone together, and now that the reason (well, most of it) why he'd been holding back had been voiced, and she had finally seemed to accept it, he had nothing keeping him from making the most of whatever time they had left together. 

Slowly he stood up from the chair and stood next to the bed, looking down at the young girl--the young _woman_--who gazed up at him with such affection. He smiled, and she responded with one of her own, but it wasn't as bright as her usual ones; a permanent shadow of melancholy had left its stain on her heart, and nothing he could do or say would take it away. 

Well, maybe one thing, but it's the one thing I can't say. He clenched his teeth, fighting off a familiar wave of helpless frustration._ Damn it all! _

Zelgadis took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "How do you feel, Amelia?" he asked gently, deciding to do everything he could to try to make her feel better--and perhaps his own heart would be soothed a little.

Amelia opened her mouth to answer, but her stomach beat her to it, growling loudly. Zelgadis was reminded of the time he'd been embarrassed by the same thing back at the palace--so long ago, it seemed--and couldn't help chuckling a little at the sheepish look on her face. "I take it you're hungry."

"Famished," she agreed with a tiny giggle, a endearing blush appearing on her nose. He was encouraged by her laughter. 

"Well…I just _happen_ to have a delicious display of cuisine simply sitting here going to waste," he said in a deliberately jovial tone, lifting a stone eyebrow as he gave her a sidewise glance. "I don't suppose you know anyone who'd be interested in sampling some, would you?"

Her smile was a little more genuine this time. "Oh, kind sir, I would like to volunteer, if I may."

"Well, then, we have a customer!" He strode to the table and pulled out the remaining cloth napkin for Amelia's lap, and turned to offer it to her. He stopped short as her gaze went to his lower legs and then her eyes flew wide open in shock. 

Startled, he glanced down to see something that had barely registered in his conscious mind as he'd sat beside her in the darkening room: his knees and lower legs were spattered with dark reddish-brown splotches, and even his tunic had a few patches. _Amelia's blood. _He hadn't even thought about washing his clothes, and now that it was dry, he knew the stains would be very difficult to get out. 

He watched her swallow hard, then look up at his face. "I didn't realize I'd been hurt that badly."

He nodded gravely.

"No wonder you were so worried about me. And here I was thinking I was being self-sufficient, grown up, when all along I was--"

"No!" Zelgadis walked back to the bed and bent down to look her in the eyes. "You just made a mistake. Everyone makes them--even adults. I ought to know." Still trying to cheer her up, he gave her a rueful look as he stood up. "Look how a careless remark of mine made you think I didn't like you the way you were." 

She looked thoughtful, so he elaborated. "I wasn't really angry, just impatient and worried about Lina and Gourry, and I took it out on you. I'm sorry." He turned to bring the tray back and sat beside her on the chair. "I never realized that you'd take my words so seriously."

"Of course I do. Everything you say is important--you mean the world to me," she said earnestly.

Her simple statement stunned him. He closed his eyes for a moment as something in the vicinity of his hard stone chest gave him a painful twinge. "Then I'd better watch what I say from now on," he said, half-jokingly and was rewarded by her smile.

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Author's Note: Finally--the inevitable confrontation! Amelia's finally gotten sure enough of Zelgadis' love to call him by name--and STILL he won't admit he loves her. But it's not over yet--this scene was so long I had to break it into two chapters. More comin' up! 

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Ichiban Victory asks: 'Is it shaped like anything? (A shack? A ship? A makeshift flying raft?)'

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** It's more or less a box with no sides, just a front and back walls. The middle will have some kind of covering, cloth or leather, and the front wall will have a wide glass window like the viewscreen on the starship Enterprise so they can see where they're going. (I started to think about how badly eyes water if you're facing the wind for more than a few minutes.) 

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Wesley asks: 'Did you know that girls' menstrual cycles synch up after they spend a long time around each other?' -- Yes, I know. I've lived with several sisters, and we were always within about a week of each other, but never had exactly the same week together. I figured Lina and Amelia might be like that.

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Knid comments: 'I realize this is necessary for the story but in the anime Zel doesn't wear his mask and hood very often. In a universe with beast people and werewolves and all manner of creatures wandering around there are actually very few times when people react to Zelgadis like a monster.'

**First of all, I like that name. ^__^ I read both of the Wonka books at least once a year, for the past 22 years, since I was eight. 

**I thought about that before I began this story, and decided that if I were a villager who lived in the Slayers' world and who'd heard rumors about what had happened in Seyrune because of the mazoku, I would be extra-wary of anyone who didn't look human (despite the fact that mazoku can take perfect human forms--the average villager would believe all kinds of rumors). 

**"After all, if Seyrune--the white magic capital--was so vulnerable to mazoku, why wouldn't my poor village be? And then there's that horrible Lina Inverse person who was consortin' with Dark Lords and blastin' villages to kingdom-come and who knows what else? Everybody knows mazoku don't like ta stay in human form alla time, right? And they say you can always tell it's a mazoku if he's got those little pointy ears… Now I'm not sayin' everybody who comes through town is evil if he don't look human, but it never hurts to be a little cautious now, ne?" 

**Even if people are used to werewolves and things, it's still human nature to distrust anyone who looks different, especially if you live in a small town where anybody new is both interesting and potentially dangerous, whether or not they look human. 

**Also, it's _Zelgadis_ who believes that people think he's a monster. The people he's met are most likely showing him only the same caution they show to any stranger, but Zel's sensitive about that sort of thing. He doesn't like people to stare at him, for example. 

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jadz_i_ka asks: 'am I sensing a chance for Zel & Amelia to explain a lot of things to each other?' -- I think this chapter has already answered that question, but anyway, _correctamundo! _You've been with me for too long. You're starting to think like me. *grins*   


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Memphis Lupine had several flatteringly favorable comments that I would like to respond to. **First of all, _thank you _for such a comprehensive review, which detailed exactly what you liked about my fic as a whole, and if I may say so, you're no slouch yourself when it comes to writing. It shows in your review. And your name is very elegant--I bet Shiran would like you. ^__^ 

**You commented 'the information within your fanfic never contradicts itself'. I tried very hard to make sure if I changed any details later in the fic that I would either change any earlier references and/or add in a mention of the change as foreshadowing. That's mainly why I didn't even begin posting my fic until I had about two-thirds of it written. 

**'Your grammar and language are nigh perfect'--thanks; I'm always worried that I'm getting something wrong, that my sentences are too awkward, even though I'd guess there are allowances made for individual style, right?

**'that have kept my absolute attention for every word'-- thanks again; do you know I can spend a half hour deciding on a single word? There are so many different shades of meanings… One of the things that makes a story boring to me are the long, dry descriptions, so I try to have as few as possible, or have my characters comment on whatever the situation is, or at least think about it, so that it's not all big blocks of descriptions. Then it's either in "speaking" mode or _italics, _which draw the eye and make things seem more interesting. After all, if I wouldn't want to read it, why should I expect you to?

**'the plot - though it doesn't seem terribly complex at first - builds up and branches out'--It wasn't supposed to, not at first. I just wanted Amelia and Zelgadis to spend some time together, fall in love, and live happily ever after, but the more I immersed myself in their world, the more problems--the kind that can ruin relationships--I kept discovering that needed tending to if I wanted to make this fic realistic. Like Zelgadis' stubborn insistence on seeing Amelia as 'too young' to fall in love with. Her natural reaction, to me, was to decide that she _had_ to grow up--fast--but of course that solution didn't make either of them happy… and so on.


	62. Chapter 62: Quiet Time

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Only Stone on the Outside

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a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

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PG-13 for nudity and references to bodily functions

Chapter Sixty-Two: Quiet Time 

Amelia accepted the flat food tray from Zelgadis and set it on her lap. He studied her for a moment as she sat amidst the rumpled green blanket, then leaned over the chair he'd set between the two beds, handing her the bowl of beef-vegetable soup. As she set it on the tray, he hoped the liquid was still warm.

For a little while, they were both silent. Zelgadis brooded about their situation. _I wish I hadn't had to reject her like that. I wish… I wanted to…to say-- _He firmly veered his mind away from his own ambiguous feelings about the girl._ But I can't. She's much safer if she knows nothing about the cure the Oracle gave me. _He sighed. _I hope she doesn't come to hate me because of this. I hope she'll be able to be happy. I hate seeing her so miserable--and it's all my fault._

He blinked when Amelia made eye contact with him. Her countenance was serious, as if she had been doing some heavy thinking. "I've changed a lot since we first met," she commented quietly. "I've grown up a lot… Everyone back home says so, anyway. But you've never treated me any differently than when we met--and sometimes you get angry with me if I act--well, spontaneously…" 

"Not angry," he objected. "Not really. It's just that sometimes it's the wrong time or place for that particular behavior." He met her eyes again, and somehow felt compelled to add, "…and sometimes…it's because I'm being a jerk."

She snorted a little, trying not to laugh with a mouthful of soup, and quickly swallowed. She gave him a look of sly amusement, but to his surprise, generously declined to name one of the many times he'd acted in such a manner. 

So he did it for her, glad that her usual good spirits were returning. "Like the time I said…" he went on to name various escapades in which he had ended up looking like an idiot or worse, and soon she was so busy trying not to laugh that she almost spilled her soup. 

The stone man had never realized that it could be so easy to laugh at himself, nor how good it could made him feel. Perhaps it was because he still carried a tight knot of guilt deep inside from the serious pain he had caused this young gir-woman, and beating up on himself was a good way to relieve some of that guilt. 

He decided to ease up on the levity lest she choke on her dinner. "Are you sure you're feeling all right? Is your stomach giving you any trouble? Do you want a cool cloth for your forehead?" he inquired as he stood up and poured her a cup of tea, then took the plate of fruit and pastries, and set it beside her on the bed before taking his seat on the chair again. 

"Thank you," she said, reaching for the teacup he held out to her. "I'm fine--just tired. I would like a bath, though, since it's my...my time." 

He stared at her, remembering what Lina had mentioned earlier in the dining hall. Amelia looked away and went back to eating, and he watched her thoughtfully, mulling over the implications of her condition, letting her eat in peace.

Now that Amelia had mentioned it, he noticed with some puzzlement that she lacked the familiar faint earthy scent that was a normal part of women during their cycle. In some women it was barely perceptible, and in others it was altogether too pungent, though he wasn't sure why. _Perhaps some women lose more blood than others. _

Amelia normally kept herself as clean as possible, considering that adequate bathing facilities were not always available to travelers, but on occasion he would catch a faint whiff of a rich, heavy odor. Of course he was too polite to mention it, and usually it only made him think about how fortunate he was to not have to go through such a thing every month, and not just because it caused the woman to lose her powers for a few days. 

The whole idea of it made him rather uncomfortable and uneasy, especially after what had happened to Amelia earlier, but now something he'd once been told came back to him._ Normally the blood a woman lost during her cycle was superfluous to herself--both the blood and even some tissue was redundant, since it had been meant to nourish a child._ He glanced at Amelia, looking for stains on her clothes, grimacing a bit as he recalled the glaring bright red blood that had been all over her torso, but could find almost no traces. As with most people who were magically healed, her skin had reabsorbed any blood that was touching it, including that which had saturated her clothes. 

I probably should have left her where I found her while we healed her, Zelgadis mused ruefully, remembering the large red puddle he'd lifted her out of, _but at the time I was half out of my mind--I thought she was dead at first. It reminded me too much of that other time, when she _had_ died in my arms…_

He took a deep breath and determinedly focused his mind on the minor mystery of the effect a woman's cycle might have in a life-or-death situation, not wanting to think about past horrors. _Do you suppose her body used that surplus to help heal her? _His eyes widened and he gave Amelia another surreptitious glance as something rather profound occurred to him. _Menstrual blood is meant to give life… this time, might it have been used to save her own? A source of power… _

He remembered a few weeks ago when he had been envious of Amelia's ability to befriend complete strangers simply by smiling at them, both in Tollik and with Ponmar and his men. _Men have greater _physical_ strength, but a woman's very vulnerability, her lack of intimidation, can be just as important an advantage, something that both genders tend to overlook. Women actually have a lot of compensations--for example, men don't carry around of life-giving reservoirs inside of them…yet another hidden asset. _

"Did I embarrass you just now?" 

"Huh?" Zelgadis turned to look at Amelia, who was just finishing her soup. A banana peel lay neatly on the tray beside her, and nearly half of the pastries were gone. She had a smear of purplish pastry filling on her cheek near her chin, along with some crumbs, giving her a cute-little-girl look. 

"When I…mentioned what time of the month it was," she explained shyly.

Puzzled, he answered, "No…why?"

"You got so quiet…I thought maybe you were upset."

He'd done it again, this time inadvertently. The irony of the situation hit him. "And here I thought I was leaving you alone so you could eat in peace… I was just thinking. It never occurred to me that you might worry that I was upset with you."

Amelia looked relieved. "Oh…of course, you're always quiet--always thinking. That's why you're so smart. Looks like I did it again." She gave him a sheepish look, unknowingly repeating his own thought exactly.

That got a smile from him, though it soon faded as yet another revelation struck him. "No, Amelia…it's not either of our faults. I just realized something--you and I have very different outlooks on life. Most of the time we don't see the same thing even when we're looking at it together--we interpret it differently. It's natural--men and women often see things differently--but it makes for misunderstandings and hurt feelings, even if we don't want it to. Like now. You see, I was so caught up with wondering…"

The stone man felt compelled to explain his recent ponderings, though not without some blushing and stammering, to let the young princess know what had caused him to unintentionally ignore her. He was careful to phrase it in terms of 'a woman' not 'you' to keep it less personal. 

Amelia was interested--she had heard about such a thing when she'd trained as a shrine maiden, but had never seen it happen to anyone in real life. "When I go to take my bath, I'll check. It would be nice to have it over with early for a change." 

He nodded, still uncomfortable but trying mightily not to show it. _It's one thing to talk about it clinically, but it's another to picture it happening to someone you know. _

To cover his discomfort, he stood up, went to the little table and picked up one of the cloth napkins, dipping a corner of it into the bowl for cleaning one's fingers. He turned back to Amelia and approached her, holding out the cloth and saying, "Hold still for a moment, Amelia."

She made a soft, questioning sound, but did as he asked. The stone man brought the cloth to the pastry-stain on her cheek and wiped gently until she was clean, then took a dry section of the napkin and moved it over the same area. His hand gradually slowed without him realizing it, caressing her tenderly. 

She watched him with wide, shimmering eyes, but did not speak. With a jolt, he realized that he had gotten lost in her sapphire gaze, and instantly he stopped what he was doing and returned the napkin to the table, painfully aware of his recent rejection of her and wishing he could do something to make her feel better.

Amelia watched him as he reclaimed his chair, her expression a little sad, but controlled. "Thank you," she said in a quiet tone. 

He nodded uncomfortably, aware of the tension between them again. After a moment, she went on, "I had this funny little sense of déjà vu for a minute--and then I remembered the morning you left the palace."

__

Oh, right, she did the same thing for me, Zelgadis remembered. _Then she gave me that guiolin and she danced for me, and then she kissed me… _His eyes lost their focus as he recalled that scene, where Amelia had given him one of her ward bracelets--a gift that had had much more profound ramifications than either of them had known at the time. 

Amelia shook her head, took a deep breath, and continued their previous conversation as if nothing had happened. "So I got lucky--well, sort of, by getting hurt at this time of the month instead of any other time, right?" She tried to smile.

__

Always the optimist, always trying to put on a brave face. The stone man felt a rush of admiration her fortitude. He lifted her empty bowl from her lap, asking her with a glance if she was done with the rest of the food. She nodded, so he picked up the other dishes as well and got up, carrying them to the little table, and before he knew it he was saying, "Amelia, you're amazing." 

She looked up at him with wide blue eyes, her mouth open. 

He put a hand behind his head, a sweatdrop appearing by his temple. _I shouldn't be complimenting her at a time like this…but I don't want to be cold to her, either. What do I say to her? I have no idea how a 'friend' is supposed to act, but I've got to say something; she's waiting. _He took a deep breath, realizing,_ And--there are some things that need to be said. _

"You can always see the good in any situation, no matter how terrible," he elaborated solemnly. "It's…truly remarkable."

She melted, giving him a tender smile, her eyes glimmering with moisture. "Oh, Zelgadis… That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

He hesitated, then took the plunge. "It's true, Amelia. Today, when I--when we almost lost you, I was terrified. You…you're…" he swallowed, not sure how to say what he wanted, and copied her earlier statement, "You mean a lot to me, too." 

Amelia was quiet, letting him collect his thoughts. In the back of her mind she knew he was only saying this now because he expected to lose her once they reached Seyrune, but the thought brought back the terrible ache that his rejection had caused in her earlier, and she shut it out, deliberately focusing only on the here-and-now. 

"You're one of the few people I can call 'friend'," he continued with difficulty.

'Friend'? Is that all? Amelia frowned. She knew he felt much more for her than just friendship, but he was trying so hard that she took pity on him and smiled gently, encouragingly.

"You're one of the few people in this world that I trust…" 

Oh, Zelgadis. She felt a lump form in her throat as she heard the slight catch in his voice. She understood how very important it was to him to be able to trust someone. 

"I don't know what I would do if I--if you--if something ever happened to you." His voice had dwindled to a mere, husky whisper, and his eyes had a suspicious wetness in the corners. 

Amelia felt a sharp pang go through her, both for him and for herself, for what she wanted with all her heart, but was not to be. _It's not fair!_ Instinctively, wanting to comfort and be comforted, she again held out her arms to the suffering chimera standing in front of her, in the same way she had only minutes before, although everything that had happened since then made it seem as if years had passed. "Dear Zelgadis," she murmured tenderly.

She could see the awful indecision in his blue-green eyes. He had just told her that he couldn't commit himself to her. A part of her understood his position. _He's trying to do the right thing, distancing himself from me…_

A part of her was afraid. She had only just managed to get him to open up to her again, because of her close brush with death. _I never want to lose that closeness ever again._

Yet there was also a part of her was annoyed; it wasn't like him to be so wishy-washy. _Either he cares about me or he doesn't!_ Remembering her earlier display of temper, and Zelgadis' subsequent declaration that he wanted her to behave like herself, instead of pretending to be someone whom she wasn't made her decide to go with her instincts.

She sighed in exasperation and moved over on the bed until half of it was empty. "I'm through being grown up," she complained. "I want to be comforted. Come sit by me," she commanded, sounding very much like the little girl she still resembled at times.

Her imperious attitude seemed to reassure him, and he took a step toward her. Belatedly Amelia tugged most of the light green blanket that was covering her onto her side of the bed, pulling it up to her collarbone. She'd shared a bed with Lina often enough to know that it wasn't comfortable to be pinned down by the other person's weight on the blankets, and Zelgadis was much heavier than Lina. 

The chimera looked a little amused at this procedure, but at least he seemed less apprehensive, so she said nothing. _Maybe he thinks I'm being modest. _

Then Zelgadis stopped at the edge of the bed. "Amelia…are you sure?" he asked hesitantly, looking both hopeful and afraid, as if he thought that she might change her mind and reject him.

His expression melted her annoyance, and she smiled warmly at him. "Yes. Come here." She knew that under ordinary circumstances having a man in the same bed could be seen as improper, even scandalous, but there was no one to see them here, and right now she wanted him to hold her and make her feel better, as he always had when she was upset.

The stone man diffidently sat down near the edge of the bed, turning to face her as he brought one long brown-splotched leg up on the bed to maintain his balance. He turned his head, and suddenly the two of them were face to face. 

Abruptly the air between them was charged with intense energy. 

Each of them read the yearning in the other's gaze, the heartache of dashed hopes and dreams, the deeply denied physical passion. The pain was almost unbearable, and Amelia came close to crying again.

In the end, it was Zelgadis who smiled, a weak, rueful smile meant to cheer her up--and he did, if only because Amelia was touched by his attempt at putting on a brave face. She made a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob. "Ohh, Zelgadis," she cried, and leaned into his solid chest, pushing him back against the headboard with a thump, seeking the remembered comfort of his warmth and the feel of his chest rising and falling under her cheek.

"Amelia," Zelgadis whispered, and his hard arms moved to embrace her. She snuggled deeper, pulling her legs up to let her curl more comfortably against him. She listened for his heartbeat through the stone--it was faint, but her experience with their ward bracelets had left her attuned to his particular beloved cadence. 

There seemed to be no need for words. Slowly they relaxed, taking comfort in each other's presence, knowing that this moment was fleeting--and so very precious.

Amelia tried not to think about the future, though the feeling of impending sorrow lingered in the back of her mind like a shadow. She tried to forget about everything, everything except Zelgadis.

The young princess loved the feel of the chimera breathing against her, taking pleasure in the warmth he gave off, like a stone warmed by the sun. She enjoyed the way his breath ruffled her hair and the tingly feeling his smooth palms gave her as he occasionally caressed her back through her tunic, stroking her lightly, almost as one would soothe a puppy--or a child, but she didn't mind in the slightest. _When he holds me like this, I know he loves me, even if he can't say it. And I love him so much… _

Zelgadis held the small dark-haired girl against him, careful not to embrace her as tightly as he wanted, discovering again how much he enjoyed holding her in his arms. She had a way of making him feel so needed, so _wanted…_

The chimera gave in to the impulse to lean over and breathe in the strawberry-scent of her hair, knowing it would most likely be the only chance he would ever have, bracing himself against the waves of angst that kept reminding him that she could not be his. _At least I can comfort _her, he thought, but nonetheless he was soothed by the feel of her living body against his, her weight on him, her scent, and most of all, by the warm ambiance of her love. 

After a long time, Amelia realized that she was falling asleep. She roused herself, not wanting to wake up to find her arms empty, but all too soon she found herself drifting, and knew she needed to say something important. "Zelgadis?" she murmured softly, in case he was asleep. 

"Mm?"

"I know the original one didn't work out, but I want you to make me a promise."

"…What?"

"Promise me you'll still come to see me. Even after-- Promise me you'll come back, even if it's hard for you?" she beseeched plaintively.

The stone man was silent for a moment, but then she felt his chest move in an inaudible chuckle. "You know me well."

"…Is that a yes?"

Again the amused movement. "Yes. I promise to come see you."

She was reassured for a moment, but then another suspicion emerged. "But not until you've gotten your cure, right?" 

"Well…"

"Zelgadis!" 

She felt him sigh. "Fine… I will visit you within a reasonable length of time, not exceeding one year after your--ceremony. Whether or not I've been able to effect my cure. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes," she said happily, satisfied. Then she surprised him by sliding her arms up around his neck and lifting herself up to kiss him on the cheek. He barely felt it--a slight pressure, no more--but the small sound her lips made was clearly audible in the still room. "Thank you, Zelgadis… I know how hard all of this has been on you." 

As the young princess moved down to snuggle onto his chest again he looked down at her with wonder. _How can she bestow such affection, when _she's_ hurting even worse than I? She should _hate_ me, blame me for her pain, for failing her--_not_ try to comfort me! _She's_ the one who needs to be comforted… _As the stone man lay there, gently holding her against him, his emotions were a muddled mix of bewilderment, guilt, gratefulness, and awed affection. He barely realized it as he began to roll slightly from side to side, unconsciously giving in to his inner convolutions. 

Amelia's breathing grew deep and slow as she relaxed, soothed into sleep by the gentle rocking motion. Gradually the stone man slowed his movements and finally stopped, wondering if he ought to put her down yet.

He tried, but she whimpered and reached for him, so he leaned back against the headboard, relaxing his weight on the pillow that was wedged under his lower back, deciding to wait until she was more deeply asleep before putting her to bed. He was calmed by the feel of her weight on him, and the gentle, even sound of her breathing. Slowly his mind grew quiet, until he, too, fell asleep without even realizing it.

*

Some time later the door was opened just the tiniest crack. Three eyes--one blue, one ruby, and one glowing-green--looked in at the cozy scene of the princess and the chimera sleeping together.

"Gourry, would you look at that?" came the whispered shout of the red-haired sorceress.

"Aww. How cute."

__

"What? It's not cute, it's--" Her eyes narrowed as she took a closer look, noticing that they were both fully clothed. Zelgadis was slumped against the headboard with Amelia snuggled on top of him with a blanket partly covering her legs and back. One bare foot emerged from under the blanket. The chimera's legs were stretched out in front of him, and one of his arms was braced with the elbow on the mattress with his wrist bent so that his hand lightly rested on Amelia's back. The other hand dangled off of the side of the bed. 

__

Okay, so maybe they weren't doing anything they shouldn't be doing. Lina shook her head and smiled, rolling her eyes. _It's a good thing no one here knows she's a princess._

Silently, she opened the door. Shiran moved sleekly into the room, sniffed the bed's occupants, and then lay down on a nearby rug as Lina slipped into the room, fixed Amelia's blanket and turned down the flame until it went out. Then she picked up the plate of leftover food and tiptoed back out into the lighted hallway where Gourry waited. 

As she closed the door softly she muttered through a mouthful of apple, "I can see they were _really_ worried about us." 

"Don't be so hard on them, Lina," Gourry said softly, trying to keep his voice down in deference to his friend's superior hearing. "They've had a long day--and Amelia was hurt really bad this time."

"I know…" Lina glanced at the other room across the hall, which the hostess had told them was theirs for as long as they wanted it. _I figured we'd have one room for the guys and one for the girls, like it's always been, but I should have known better. Zel wouldn't leave her alone at a time like this._

She glanced at Gourry, who was watching her curiously, then squared her shoulders and opened the door. Gourry followed her in, holding their oil lamp up so that they could look around. 

The room had two beds, which both relieved and disappointed her. 

Gourry entered first, commenting, "Boy, am I tired." He yawned, long and loudly. "I'll glad to get to bed tonight." He lifted the oil lamp he'd been carrying and set the handle on the hook in the ceiling, then turned to face her. 

Lina looked again at the two beds, remembering the intimate scene she'd just witnessed, and suffered an uncharacteristic attack of nerves. "I'm--I'm going to go take a bath--it's still early. I'll see you when I get back, okay?"

As she retreated from the room she caught a glimpse of Gourry's puzzled face. _It hasn't hit him yet. We'll be alone tonight, all night, with practically no chance we'll be interrupted. We'd be able to do anything we wanted, and no one'd stop us… _The thought brought with it an electric tingle of excitement--and apprehension. _But I still want to save myself for our wedding night…and I'm still not really sure what I'm doing. _

She stopped at the supply cupboard to choose her soaps and other toiletry items, then set them in a large bowl and made her way down the stairs to the large dining/common room. It looked a very different from the way it did in the daytime--a little lonely with only a few people sitting at any of the many tables--and headed out the back door to the bathing area. The nice hostess, Momoko, waved to her as she passed, and smiled. 

The bathing area was set out of sight of the inn, well away from the smell of the stable, and had a nice tall fence around it to thwart peepers. It wasn't a true hot spring, unfortunately, but a couple of fireballs would take care of that in no time. The area itself had been lovingly landscaped, with pretty flowers and bushes, and small boulders artistically placed here and there. 

Oh, I forgot to bring a lamp. "Lighting," Lina murmured, choosing a small-size ball of energy that would not be too bright, and would go out relatively quickly. Then she followed it up with two medium-sized fireballs, which she hurled into the pool, causing a great cloud of hissing steam to rise. 

She dipped a finger in. _Ow! I guess it's hot enough. _She undressed and used her bowl to scoop out some water, then poured it over herself, and scrubbed quickly so that she could rinse and get into the pool for a soak. As she slipped in, she gasped at the heat. _Whew! Maybe I overdid it this time._ She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling her skin tingle all over as her pores opened, and shivered. _Mmm, this feels so goood…I wish Gourry were here. _

That opened her eyes. The first thing she saw were her small breasts, floating in the water in front of her. She frowned thoughtfully, cupping them in her hands. _They really don't look any bigger to me, but maybe they're bigger than Gourry expected, that time he actually saw me naked in the Oracle's cave. _She sighed. _They'll never be as big as Amelia's, but Gourry doesn't seem too disappointed anymore…at least, he hasn't said anything about me being flat-chest in a while. _

She had a sudden vision of Gourry touching her breasts, and abruptly let go of them, sinking down until the water level was just below her nose. _He could probably hold both of them in one hand, _she thought, distressed._ I hope he doesn't laugh at me…if he does I'll have to pound him and then that'll ruin the mood. I don't know why guys like to touch them anyway. They say it's different when a man touches them than when you touch your own. I didn't understand that, but now I think I do…_

She closed her eyes as a delicious tingly feeling spread through her body. _We spent most of the afternoon chasing those bandits, but after we caught up to them and Shiran took care of them--even before _I_ could--on the way back Gourry and I had a lot of fun kissing. I can still feel where he was holding me. _

Maybe tonight I'll let him do a little more than just kiss me. 

When her light spell began to fade, the red-haired sorceress climbed out and donned one of the inn's heavy yukata robes, then gathered her things and headed for the inn. _I'll give my clothes to Momoko for washing. _

Minutes later, Lina made her way down the long hallway, its wooden floor cold under her bare feet. She had again forgotten an oil lamp, so she used another small light spell, getting more and more nervous as she approached the door to their room. _Maybe I should have worn my own clothes. I don't want him getting any ideas--yet. _

The wooden door creaked loudly as she slowly opened it--only to facefault at the sight of Gourry, cozily tucked into one of the beds, sleeping like a baby. She couldn't decide whether to be insulted or relieved. _Why that--he--I can't believe this! Here we are, alone together for the first time since--and he goes and falls asleep! _

She opened her mouth to yell at him, but for once had second thoughts, noticing the peaceful look on his face. _Well, he _said_ he wanted to go to bed. I guess I had other things on my mind than sleep. _She shook her head. _Does that mean I'm turning into a pervert? Brr. _She shuddered. 

She began to walk toward the other bed, but stopped, looking at her blonde companion. _He's really cute when he's asleep. _Her bare feet made no noise on the wooden floor as she walked over to his bed and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "Good night, Gourry," she murmured softly, smiling down at him. 

Then she climbed into the other bed and stretched luxuriously, enjoying the lithe way her muscles moved after her hot bath, and had a sudden thought. _I bet Amelia's gonna be reeeally stiff in the morning…_

*****************************************************************************

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Author's Notes: 

Nadesiko-san comments: 'I can read your fanfiction with a bad translator, while I try to learn English…But really, I love your form of writing.'

* Thank you for the compliment! It is nice to know that my writing can be understood by people whose native language is not English. _And_ that it is interesting enough to encourage you to read over 60 chapters! ^__^

  
**jadz_i_ka says: '**I just can't imagine Zel almost kissing with Ameria and then talking to her like (almost) nothing happened!'

* He's trying to _pretend_ nothing happened--and he's also trying to make himself fit into the role of 'close friend/companion but not lover', but he's never done that before, so he's sort of making it up as he goes along. He's decided to be as close to her as a friend can be--even though he wants her more than ever now! ^__^ Don't worry, there's lots of scenes coming up where they get to be close…

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Lina Gabriev asks: 1) In Chapter 55 when Amelia makes reference that Lina killed the Mazoku with a Dragon Slave that isn't totally correct. They are killed by the Sword of Light and the other with the Ragna Blade. It's the big huge chunk of land that Lina uses the dragonslave to destroy it so it wouldn't crush Seyrunn.

* Yes, Lina Dragonslaved the dirt, not the Mazoku, but are you sure you remember seeing that in chapter 55? I looked at it and didn't notice any times when Amelia refers to Lina… I'm puzzled.

****

2) In Chapter 55, I didn't realize until this point how much Amelia and Kembri were alike. Had you made the characters that way or was that just the result? 

*You mean how both have boyfriends (sort of) who have something wrong with them--or think they do? Well, I actually wasn't thinking about that at all. I gave Ril a stutter because characters ought to have weaknesses/faults to make them more real and interesting and easier to identify with, and only after I printed it out and re-read it did the Amelia/Kembri parallel even occur to me--just a few weeks ago, though I wrote those scenes probably about six months ago.

****

3) Also, I wanted to say this before but forgot: Isn't Megido Flare that thing Zelgadis used when he was trapped in water, after he dressed up as Lu-lu in the anime? He used the spell and suddenly was surounded by a ring of fire and broke through the Mazoku's spell. I don't believe the spell is used for a calming effect as said in Chapter 57.

*I got a description off of one of the official sites--it said it attacks bad spiritual energy, which means it ought to be affective against quite a lot of things, including people's feelings. Perhaps it looks like a ring of fire, or was animated that way, but I don't think I described what it looked like when Amelia cast it, so I'm safe on that point.

****

4) Oh and and by the way, those women in this chapter distracted them so Gourry's question was never answered ("What did they look like, so we don't get the wrong ones by mistake?"). 

* I did mention that Amelia 'gave a description' of them. I didn't want to have to make my readers read about characters they'd already met, and be bored.


	63. Chapter 63: The Chimera's New Clothes

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Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

Note: See Author's Note's for a clarification of the title of this chapter.

****

PG-13 for nudity and lime-i-ness

Chapter Sixty-Three: The Chimera's New Clothes 

By morning the effects of gravity had caused Amelia to shift several times in her sleep, eventually ending up with her head resting on Zelgadis' stomach and the rest of her body curled up next to him, half-covered by the blanket. One arm was curled up under her, and the other was resting in front of her face, draped over the chimera's stomach. 

As she slowly came to wakefulness, she wondered, _Ooo… Why is my bed so hard? _

Her 'bed' was breathing. 

"Wha--" Her eyes opened to see Zelgadis' familiar tan tunic in front of her, and the events of the day before came flooding back into her mind. _Oh, yes… we fell asleep together because I got hurt and Zelgadis was worried about me. He carried me up to the room and we talked and I got mad and… _She bit her lip as a wave of awful feelings swept over her. _He said he can't be cured in time for my ceremony. I'm going to have to marry that boy Kerrin instead of the man I love! _

Panic hit her and for a moment she had a wild desire to flee, to take Zelgadis and run as far away from Seyrune and her father as possible. _We can travel together until he's cured. We could go back to Tollik. Miss Dahri will help him, and if it takes another year, so what? At least we'll be together! _

She was comforted by her daydream, imagining Zelgadis flaunting all tradition by marrying her in spite of what the law said, of the two of them living like Lina and Gourry, always on the road, having fun, with no responsibilities to tie them down. 

Eventually her guilt began to bother her. _What would Daddy say? What would Seyrune do without an heir? What about my people, people I've come to know all these years, people who depend on me? Mister Tolkar is having such trouble with his neighbor, and I promised Mister Jossa I'd be there when his wife's baby is born, just in case it has trouble. She's already had one stillborn… _

Maybe I could appoint Zelgadis to be my court adviser or something, just to keep him near me. We could still see each other… Kerrin won't mind; he knows how much I love Zelgadis… The princess felt a twinge. _But that wouldn't be fair to Kerrin. A marriage is when a man and a woman promise to be faithful to each other--and Kerrin's already told me he's in love with me. I'd be cheating on him--emotionally, anyway. _

Her small hand grasped the heavy fabric over the chimera's hard stomach, clenching it tightly, feeling his stomach gently rise and fall under her cheek as he breathed. Tear stung her eyes. _Love is supposed to conquer all! _she wailed inside._ It did back when Zelgadis and I used those urns to stop a war--and I wasn't even sure then that Zelgadis was the one for me yet! I can't believe this is happening… _

Suddenly in her mind she heard her old schoolmaster quote: _"'People--especially rulers--sometimes have to do things they don't want to do, no matter how much it hurts. I know it isn't fair, Ame-chan, that you're only human, but people expect royalty to be perfect, to establish a good example, or morale suffers. I don't have to tell you how your relatives' recent treacheries have made the people of Seyrune less trusting of the royal family, and fearful about the future of our kingdom, for themselves and their children. We can't afford another scandal.'"_

At the time she had agreed with him wholeheartedly, wanting to ease the worries of her people and lead them to an ever-brightening future. She had never anticipated that one of the sacrifices _she _would have to make would be to marry someone she didn't love!

But she was older and more experienced than she'd been then. Amelia wil Tesla Seyrune was, despite her age and youthful appearance, a veteran of many battles; she knew that sometimes things did not go the way one planned, and that the only way to deal with those changes without being torn up inside was to accept them and try to see the best of the new situation.

Her optimistic nature chose that moment to point out: _Many girls are much worse off than I am--at least I got to choose, even if Kerrin isn't my first choice. And I know for sure that marrying him will benefit Seyrune, instead of causing strife and maybe war, as Daddy said would happen if I married Zelgadis. And…I know that Zelgadis will always be my friend… _

And thus the Seyrune princess passed a turning point, and began to look forward again. She hadn't given up on Zelgadis--indeed, the news that there _was _a cure had lifted her spirits tremendously, and even now in the subconscious layers of her mind she was mulling over the problem--but with her typical resilient strength of character Amelia had begun to wonder, just a little, about a different future from the one on which she'd set her heart so long ago. 

Zelgadis. After this is all over, I'll_ still have a home, a family, people who love me…even Kerrin… _She shook her head, still not ready to accept the idea that someone else would be by her side. She focused instead on Zelgadis, finding it easier to think about the chimera's problems. 

But who will he_ have? Miss Lina and Mister Gourry are a couple now, he won't want to tag along with them, being the third wheel--or is it the fifth wheel? Anyway, he'll be all alone. _She blinked back hot tears. _I need to do everything I can to help him before this is all over--no matter what! Any maybe--just maybe--if we don't give up, something might happen and he'll get his cure and then everything will be wonderful. _

Amelia knew that the stone man was still holding something back, but she knew that there was no way to make him tell her anything until he was ready_. I sure wish he'd tell us what's wrong with his cure; why he can't use it…but for now, at least, his answer is final. _She sighed, and then took another deep breath, bracing herself for the challenges of the day to come. _Zelgadis said he liked me the way I usually am, so I'll do my best to act cheerful--for his sake. I don't want him to see me being a crybaby all the way back to Seyrune. I have to be strong--for him._

Beneath her Zelgadis stirred. Amelia lifted her head from his stomach to watch as his eyes slowly opened, and then smiled lovingly at him, her face mere inches from his. He blinked, and her smile broadened as she suppressed the sudden urge to kiss him affectionately on the nose. 

After a moment she leaned back on her knees to let him sit up, brushing her sleep-tousled hair from her face. "Good morning," she chirped. "Did you sleep well?"

He stared at her for a long moment, obviously remembering the events of the previous day. "Fine," he answered, so long after her question that she'd almost forgotten she'd asked it. "Did you?"

"Oh, yes," she answered in a cheery voice, although in truth she was somewhat stiff. Stone skin did not a pillow make.

"How are you feeling? Your wound?"

"I'm all better today." 

They shared an awkward look, neither knowing what to say next. Shiran rose up from the floor beside them, stretching gracefully with her fluffy tail lifted in a curve over her body, and came over to greet them. Amelia patted the slender, elegant lavender head, which was about on a level with her collarbone. "Good morning, Shiran. Wow, you look even bigger indoors!" 

Shiran moved to Zelgadis, sniffing his bloodstained clothes intently, then looked into his face and whined. The stone man understood her distress perfectly, and placed a gentle hand on her head, stroking her purple mane to comfort her.

"I have--" Amelia began. 

"Would you--" he started.

They stopped, staring at each other. Zelgadis noticed a twinkle of humor in Amelia's eye, and smiled. "You first."

"I was just going to say, I have some clothes for you to change into." At his surprised look, she grinned. "I bought them in Tollik, then forgot all about them." 

She bought me clothes? He opened his mouth, but nothing came out._ I shouldn't accept them. It would be like accepting an obligation…or a promise… It would be cruel to take anything from her when I've just told her I can't marry her. _"You shouldn't have wasted your money on me," he said impulsively, and instantly regretted it. A terribly hurt expression crossed her face, replacing her happy beam.

"I'm sorry," he began, but she had turned away to stare out of the window. He stood there for a long moment, feeling every bit as callous as he'd accused himself of being last night. 

"It's all right," she said suddenly, looking up at him and smiling bravely despite her obvious pain. "You don't have to wear them--it was just an idea."

The stone man gazed out of the window, which overlooked sunlit field of flowers that were every bit as pretty as the maid had said the night before, in a rainbow of colors. _She's gone quiet again. Why is it everything I say hurts her?_

He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "Look, Amelia…maybe I spoke too hastily. I mean, my clothes aren't in the best of shape…and I _will_ need something to wear, so… I'd be honored to wear something you chose for me."

He was rewarded instantly as her face broke into an ecstatic grin. "Oh, I just know you're going to like them! You'll look so good in blue!"

He couldn't help smiling at her joy over something as ordinary as a set of clothing. "So are you up to going downstairs to eat, or would you rather I bring you some breakfast?"

"I'm ready!" She slid out of the bed and stood with her arms spread wide as if to prove it. "I don't even need to get dressed, since I slept in my clothes, though I _really_ want a bath before we leave. And a chance to wash my clothes."

"Me too." He winced as he said it, realizing that it sounded as if he was blaming her for soiling his clothes with her blood, but she didn't seem to notice, thankfully. 

*

Lina and Gourry were already eating, as usual. "Zel, Amelia, there you are!" Lina called jovially. "Come and have some breakfast!"

"In a minute," Amelia answered as she jogged past their table. "I need to get something from my saddlebag."

Zelgadis stood for a moment, debating whether to go with her. _I wonder if they saw us sleeping together? If they did it might be a good idea to avoid Lina for a while… _

"I'll give you a hand," he said quickly and strode after her, out the back door, through the yard and into the stable.

Amelia was already rummaging through one of the bags as Shiran went over to greet Sunshine in her stall. "Here they are." She handed him a plain brown paper package. "I'm sorry it isn't wrapped prettier, but I didn't want anyone to notice it."

"It's fine." He studied the large, bulky package. He had never received many gifts, and remembered being disappointed in many of those he _had _received. 

"Go on, open it." Amelia was beaming at him again, her smile lightening his mood as usual.

He tore the package open slowly so as not to damage the cloth inside, and ended up with a bundle of mostly blue clothing. Amelia took each piece from him one at a time and unfolded them, holding each one out in front of her with wide arms as if waiting for his approval. 

There was a pale blue cloak, very similar to his old one, with a cream-colored lining. "See all the pockets inside?" Amelia smiled. He nodded.

Next she held up a pair of pants in a medium shade of blue. "I made sure to get nice tough material so they won't tear easily, or wear out fast," the princess explained. Again, he nodded.

Then there was a new pair of half-gloves in pale gray leather. "I decided you get you new gloves, seeing as how you were kind enough to lend yours to me." Startled, he looked down at her hands, which, sure enough, still sported his old gloves. _I'd gotten used to seeing them on her hands. The don't quite look the same…I think she must have altered them a little so they'd fit her hands. But why didn't she just get _herself_ new gloves instead of wearing my old dirty ones? _

And finally, the shirt… A long-sleeved tunic of the same light blue color as the cloak, with dark purple embroidery around the cuffs in a surprisingly elegant geometric pattern. Amelia commented, "I made sure to choose something without too much fancy decoration, or too much cloth, since you're so slender." 

She really put a lot of thought into these. Zelgadis held the clothes against his torso with both arms, surprised at how special it made him feel to know that she had obviously spent a lot of time choosing items that she thought would please him. 

"Well?" Amelia was looking at him with wide hopeful eyes. 

His expression softened into a smile. "They're fine clothes," he said warmly. "I'll be proud to wear them."

"You aren't just saying that?"

"No, of course not." She still looked uncertain, so he elaborated, "I can see that they're very well-made… and I like the pattern of the embroidery." 

"I knew you would!" Her smile was back. "You have such a logical mind; I knew it was something you'd choose."

"I used to wear clothes like these, back before I was…"

At this reminder of his curse, both of them went silent. After a long moment, Zelgadis added, "Well, anyway, Amelia--I couldn't be more pleased--and I really mean it. I only wish I had thought to buy something for you to replace that gown I ruined."

She looked surprised. "What, that old thing? I'd forgotten all about it." 

Zelgadis was astonished. _Women are so difficult to understand. Here she makes such a fuss over the clothes she got me, and yet completely disregards her own dress, which was obviously worth several times what this outfit must have cost. _

Amelia apparently noticed his perplexed expression. "It was something I was glad to sacrifice, since it helped us get away from that situation without any bloodshed."

Zelgadis smiled, pleased both by her answer and by the fact that she had taken the trouble to clarify her statement instead of leaving him baffled. "Your heart is in the right place," he said without thinking.

"Why, thank you," she said, obviously touched. "You can be so sweet!"

Sweet? He met her gaze, and saw that her eyes were shimmering with undisguised affection for him. Unable to stop himself, he let himself fall into their warm blue depths for an endless moment, savoring the feeling of closeness between them. 

Finally he tore himself away, unnecessarily clearing his throat. "Well, uh, I'd better take a bath and change."

"What about breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Well…I'll save you something in case you're hungry later, then."

"Okay, thanks." He beat a hasty retreat from the stable, heading for the tall fence that most likely housed a bathing area.

As he soaked and scrubbed with the fine sand on the bottom of the pool, he discovered that his emotions were still just as chaotic as ever. "What am I doing? Flirting with a girl--woman--young woman--after I told her I can't marry her. Do I have the right to be close to her?" 

* 

Amelia joined her friends at the table. "Good morning, Miss Lina, Mister Gourry."

" 'Morning, Amelia," Gourry mumbled through a mouthful of eggs. 

" 'Morning," Lina echoed.

Amelia smiled at their typical behavior, rolling her eyes. _It's nice to know that some things will never change. _She signaled the waiter and ordered a decent-sized breakfast; enough for her, Lina's thievery and a little for Zelgadis.

As she sat back to wait for the food, she noticed that Lina's pretty orchid was gone from her headband. "Miss Lina, what happened to your flower?"

"Huh?" The redhead put a hand to her temple, as if only now realizing that the large lavender flower was missing. 

"You lost it while we were out--chomp, chomp--after those men yesterday," Gourry volunteered without missing a bite. "I noticed it was gone on the way back."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lina looked as if she was getting ready to throw a fit.

"I forgot--we were busy at the time. Don't you remember?" 

Amelia looked back and forth between the two of them as Lina turned as red as a lobster. _I wonder what they were doing, alone together…oh! _The dark-haired girl began to blush too.

Gourry continued obliviously, still stuffing his face, "And besides, it was getting all wilted. If you want, I can get you another one sometime."

Amelia enjoyed watching Lina try to hide a pleased smile as she stammered, "S-sure, Gourry. I'd like that."

Soon after that Amelia's breakfast arrived. When she was about halfway through, Gourry finished eating and got up to leave. "I'm going to take a bath before we go," he explained.

"Okay; Zelgadis is already in there," Amelia said, nodding. "I need one, too."

Once he was gone, Lina turned to Amelia and winked. "So, you had an interesting evening, huh?"

"What? Oh--" Amelia blushed. "Miss Lina, keep your voice down!" she hissed, blushing. She leaned toward the redhead over the table and said in an undertone, "You--you saw us?"

"Oh, yes, we both did." At this affirmation, the young princess blushed even harder, going from pink to red. Lina continued cheerfully, "You two make a cute couple. Congratulations."

"Um, thank you…but why?"

Lina stared at her. "What--didn't you two work things out? I mean, I figured Zel finally got his act together and told you how he feels about you, seeing as how you practically died in his arms--again."

"No…" Lina watched in dismay as the younger girl's face crumpled. "He--he rejected me."

"What?" 

Amelia wailed, "Oh, Miss Lina, you were right, he said something's wrong with his cure and he won't have time to fix it before--before…" She put her face in her hands, hiding from the inquisitive glances of several strangers. Lina glared at them, scaring them off. 

Lina looked at the younger girl, feeling helpless. _Has all of this been for nothing? _"He didn't tell you what was wrong, did he?"

"Nooo," Amelia moaned. 

"Then how do you know there is? Maybe he just doesn't--"

"You didn't see the way he looked at me," Amelia looked off into the distance. "He wanted me, I could see it."

"--_Wanted _you? Did he--"

Amelia gave her an indignant glare. "Of course not. He was trying to comfort me, that's all. He's too honorable to take advantage of a lady."

"Even if she wants him to?" Lina's tone was quiet, her face pensive. 

Amelia's eyes were serious. "You know…I've thought about it."

Lina felt a flicker of alarm. "I wouldn't, Amelia, not out of wedlock. And besides, his stone…"

Amelia waved a hand sideways in front of her. "Oh, I wouldn't. I just wonder about it, that's all."

Lina was not sanguine about the contemplative look in her friend's eyes. "So we're back to square one. We _still_ need to get his cure--and the only one who knows it is Zelgadis." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe we could get him drunk. A lot of people develop loose tongues when they're drunk…"

"Miss Lina!" The justice-tone alerted Lina to the return of Miss Morals. 

"Just kidding, I was just kidding…"

*

Zelgadis was thinking about getting out when Gourry joined him. "Hey, Zelgadis, how's it going?" Wearing a little white towel, he stepped down into the spring, which Zelgadis had heated with a few fireballs earlier. Fortunately the pool had cooled somewhat, or the young man might have gotten a nasty burn in a delicate region before he'd realized it.

Suddenly the stone man changed his mind about leaving, discovering that he felt like talking to someone sympathetic. "Gourry, do you ever regret falling in love with Lina?"

The blonde man blinked. "No, not really. At least, not since she told me she loves me." Then he covered his mouth with a hand. "Oops, I'm not supposed to talk about it. Please don't tell Lina; she'll kill me!"

Zelgadis lifted a stony eyebrow. "Are you sure? Yesterday she all but admitted it."

Gourry's face scrunched up while he thought that over. "Maybe you're right…I'll have to ask her, though."

Curious, Zelgadis questioned, "Doesn't it bother you to have to ask her for permission? You're a grown man, older than she is."

"Well…I just want to make her happy."

"Oh." The stone man felt his shoulders droop. _Would that it were that easy to make Amelia happy. _

"So, are you and Amelia happy now?" Gourry asked unexpectedly. 

"What?"

"Last night when we got back Lina and I looked in on you guys and saw you sleeping together. You both looked pretty happy," Gourry explained.

We weren't 'sleeping together', Zelgadis almost said before realizing that the swordsman meant it literally. _I knew Shiran hadn't let herself in and turned off the lamp. But why didn't Lina do something? I would have thought she'd be upset to see us like that, considering how skittish she is around men. _He eyed the blonde swordsman, who watching him curiously. _Maybe it's because _her_ situation's changed lately…_

Slowly, he said, "No, Gourry…we aren't happy."

"Huh? Why not?"

The chimera sighed heavily. "Because we can't--be together. I can't--offer myself to her."

"Why not?"

"It's too complicated to explain. I just--I won't have enough time before her ceremony to be cured, and without a cure I can't--" he broke off, grimacing. _Even if I went off in search of Filia or Sylphiel--well, maybe not Sylphiel, she's never struck me as the type who could stand up to dark forces inside her own head--I'd never make it unless I used that gem Xellos just lent us, but then Amelia wouldn't be able to get back in time and she'd lose the throne. So unless I get incredibly lucky and run into someone with as much power as Filia…_

"You can't marry Amelia." Gourry looked pensive. "That's what Lina said. That's why we've been looking for all these months--"

"You what?" The chimera was startled. 

"For months now, we've been looking all over the place," Gourry clarified. "For your cure."

So Lina's been in on this from the start…and they were successful, but to no avail. "I'm sorry," Zelgadis said regretfully. 

"So, do you have it or not? You never said." 

Caught off guard, the stone man said, "I do, but--," _What am I saying?_ "--there are complications. Not just anyone can work the spell." 

"So who can?"

Amelia. "Ah…nobody appropriate, at present." _He's really focusing today, attacking this problem like an enemy. I'd better get out of here or I'll be telling him everything, and next thing I know Amelia will hear of this and then… _

"Excuse me," he said, climbing out and wrapping his own towel around his waist. _Maybe I'll get dressed upstairs. _He shook some of the water off of his hands and picked up the pile of clothes that Amelia had given him, and headed back toward the inn. 

*

Amelia had just undressed and was putting up her hair to go join Lina for a bath when she heard footsteps approaching the door. _Oh! _She gave her yukata robe a panicky glance, but it was on the other side of the room past both of the beds. She looked frantically back and forth between the robe and the door, hesitating for much too long, then decided hastily, _The door, then! _She made a frantic dash toward it around the nearest bed with her hand outstretched to push it closed just as Zelgadis, wearing nothing but a tiny white towel around his hips, came around the door. 

******************************************************************************

****

Author's Note: Silly Amelia! It never even occurs to her to simply call out, "Don't come in!" Panic will do that to ya.

It never even occurs to _Zelgadis_ to ask Xellos the next time he shows up to contact Filia for him, though the mazoku could probably do so easily enough. It's partly that he simply doesn't trust Xellos, partly because he hates having to depend on Xellos for anything, and partly because he can't see any reason why Xellos would want to help him. It's Lina whom Xellos seems to like, not Zel. 

I know what it looks like, but remember that this fic is a _Zelgadis/_Amelia fic, so don't panic. Amelia is starting to wonder about Kerrin, though… *evil laugh* but did you notice that she calls our favorite chimera 'Zelgadis' all the time now?

And yes, the title of this chapter, besides literally describing what happens within, is also a reference to the old fable 'The Emperor's New Clothes'. Why, you ask? Well, it's my way of sneakily foreshadowing the next chapter. What do I mean by that? Heh, heh, well, ask yourself this--what was the most interesting part about that old fable? Ah, you understand now? And look at you blush! ^__~ 


	64. Chapter 64: An Electrifying Encounter

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie! 

****

PG-13 for nudity and lime-i-ness

Chapter Sixty-Four: An Electrifying Encounter 

Amelia had just undressed and was putting up her hair to go join Lina for a bath when she heard the bedroom door begin to open. _Oh! _She gave her yukata robe a panicky glance, but it was on the other side of the room past both of the beds. She hesitated a bit too long, then decided, _The door, then! _

She made a frantic dash toward it around the nearest bed with her hand outstretched to push the door closed just as Zelgadis, wearing nothing but a tiny white towel around his hips, came around it. 

He froze at the sight of the nude princess running toward him, her large breast bouncing, momentarily hypnotizing him. The next thing he knew she had tripped over Shiran's lavender bulk and was hurtling toward him in mid-air, a terrified look on her face. Instinctively he dropped everything he was carrying, shoved the door closed to get it out of the way and tried to catch her as she fell, but he was a split second too late. She crashed into him, knocking him down, her hands taking most of the impact as they hit his bare chest.

Several people in the dining hall below looked up in annoyance at the loud thumping going on upstairs. "What are they doing up there, moving furniture?" one man grumbled.

Shiran gave the couple a quick glance as if to make sure they were all right, then put her head back down on her paws.

Both Zelgadis and Amelia lay frozen, their bare bodies pressed together. Amelia seemed somewhat stunned, and distracted by the pain of the bruises she must have gotten from him, especially in places where he had extra stones, but Zelgadis was stunned for a different reason. Her generous bosom was resting directly in front of his eyes, close enough to touch. He felt a little short of breath, although that might have been because Amelia had managed to hit him hard enough to knock it out of him. 

Oww, Amelia thought, _that hurt. _She lay still for a moment getting her bearings, when suddenly the hard surface under her moved. Amelia stiffened, remembering who she was lying on, feeling bare smooth stone rubbing her body, as well as rougher bumpy places that must be his extra stones. She froze as all of her attention became focused on the sensations from her skin, which began to tingle wherever it touched him, especially when he breathed. 

Blue eyes met teal ones. 

"I'm sorry!" she cried, and suddenly Amelia was trying to untangle herself from him. He had somehow managed to embrace her to him during his unsuccessful attempt at catching her, and with his somewhat dulled mind it took him a moment to figure out what was wrong. "Ow," she mumbled involuntarily as her tender skin was pinched. 

"Oh! Sorry." He released her, and she slid off of him and got to her feet, backing away from him. "I didn't mean to walk in on you," he apologized hastily, averting his gaze and blushing like crazy. "Are you all right? Did I hurt you?" 

"I'm fine," she said slowly. "I…didn't mean to…knock you down," She didn't sound like herself. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and realized that she was staring at him.

__

Is that his--? It is! Amelia found herself fascinated at the sight.

As Zelgadis sat up he followed her line of sight and realized that his towel had come off in the fall, leaving him fully exposed. "Gods!" He covered himself with his hands, then let go with one hand and tried to pull the towel over himself, but since he was sitting on most of it he only got a tiny corner. He growled, fisted the towel in his hand and gave a monstrous yank, realizing only after he heard a loud tearing sound that he'd been too flustered to remember to shift his weight off of it in time. 

As he sat there, mortified, covering himself with one hand and dangling a strip of white towel from the other, his face almost lavender, he heard Amelia begin to giggle. He looked up to see her standing there with both hands over her mouth, trying to smother her laughter but failing miserably. She seemed to have forgotten that she was naked, or maybe she'd decided it didn't matter since he'd already seen her body, because she didn't try to use her hands to hide any part of herself from him. 

Chimera or not, Zelgadis was still male. He took a good, long, guilty look at Amelia, his eyes traveling over her softly rounded curves, admiring the way she bounced when she laughed. 

Yet he noticed that for all her apparent mirth, she was trembling slightly. When his eyes reached her face again they both blushed, but her merriment was contagious and Zelgadis actually found himself chuckling at the ridiculous scene they made, both buck naked, with himself sitting on the floor with a useless shred of towel in one hand and his other covering his male attributes. 

How is it that her laughter always makes me feel better? She can make even the worst situations seem okay. She doesn't even seem to mind that I'm looking at her… Then the part of himself that he was covering began to react to her enticing nearness, embarrassing him further.

"I'm sorry," Amelia said again, visibly trying to stop laughing. "It's just…I've never seen you look so undignified…" Her smile faded as her expression became sympathetic. "Here, let me get your clothes." 

Zelgadis' heartbeat was suddenly loud in his ears as his eyes widened, following her every movement as she came closer and then knelt beside him where he still sat on the floor. His new clothes were less than an arm's length away--he'd been so freaked out that the idea of using his clothing to cover himself hadn't even occurred to him. Then again, if he _had, _they might have ended up like the towel…

Amelia's own heart was pounding at her own bravado. _What am I _doing? _I've never acted like this before, walking around naked in front of a man. _She felt oddly twitchy, and fought the urge to cover herself with her hands, fully aware of his nearness. It was sort of scary, to openly allow him see her body like this, but also sort of exciting--and secretly she was pleased at his obvious admiration. _I'll get dressed in a minute…but first I'll help him._ _He always acts as if he's really ashamed of his body; he keeps it so covered up all the time, even though he has no need to. It's a beautiful body. _

She had seen it once before, but at the time they'd been in the midst of a battle with a mazoku; plus he'd been wearing underwear at the time. Now the princess kept remembering how his body had felt just moments ago, sliding against hers with only the extra stones marring his perfectly smooth stone skin. 

Zelgadis could smell her skin. It was a familiar scent, especially after last night; a comforting, yet exciting aroma. Her splendid breasts moved in graceful arcs as she leaned over and retrieved the bundle of clothing, then turned to look at him. 

As she held the clothes out to him some of her usual shyness seemed to return. She glanced down at his body, then back to his face, then down again out of the corners of her eyes, and then looked away, blushing in a way that he found even more endearing than her laughter. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to stare." 

The stone man couldn't help smiling a little; already he was getting used to her nudity. _She's still Amelia, with or without clothes._ "That's all right. I've seen you, too." He hesitated, realizing that she was disregarding her own discomfiture in favor of his. _I can't imagine another girl who would act this way toward me, as if being naked in front of a man--especially one who looks like me--didn't make her nervous. _

It made him want to reciprocate her generosity. "I suppose it's only fair." 

Timidly she gazed at him as he took the pile of clothing from her and set it on his knees--using both hands--fighting the feeling of being exposed, vulnerable. He tried not to blush at her wide-eyed gaze at his lower anatomy, knowing that he had grown somewhat in the last few moments.

Zelgadis tried to act casual as he fumbled through the clothes, trying to decide what to put on first. _The pants--no, the tunic. Is it long enough…? _He kept being distracted by her nearness, and finally just seized the light blue tunic and shook it out, then slipped it over his head. He realized as he pulled it down over his body that it lacked the extra material around his neck that he'd used as a mask, but otherwise it fit perfectly. 

Amelia was still looking down, although the tunic was indeed long enough to cover his nether region, but she looked up as he got his feet under him and stood up. The raven-haired princess seemed content to watch as he pulled the blue pants on, one leg at a time, tucking himself in and fastening the snap with a sharp click. 

Her gaze traveled up to his face as he smoothed the tunic down over his hips. Suddenly she blinked and bounced to her feet, literally. "Oh, I'm sorry--I never thought to get you any underwear! They didn't have any at the kiosk, but I could have looked for-- "

"I'm fine," he reassured her. 

She quieted, looking him up and down. "You look really good," she offered finally, smiling shyly at him. 

"Thank you," he responded automatically. "You, too."

As yet another fetching blush colored her cheeks he realized what he'd said. "Um, with or without clothes. That is, you always look good, no matter--I mean--" 

She giggled again, stopping him from making even more of a fool of himself. He smiled back at her, enjoying the view as she turned and made her way to the other bed where a pink yukata robe lay waiting for her. She picked it up, then looked at him and hesitated. "I…really should go down to the bath. Miss Lina will be wondering what happened." 

He was pleased that she seemed reluctant to leave his company, and even more pleased that she didn't seem to feel the need to hurry to get dressed. Her trust in him was gratifying--and delightful. "Go ahead," he said in a soft tone that said that he understood, but that he would be sorry to see her leave. 

As she slid her arms into the large sleeves and tied the front closed, he smiled and added impulsively, "I'm just glad it was you and not Lina."

Amelia looked at him in surprise. He laughed quietly, somehow finding it easy to do, as if his inhibitions had been stripped away along with his clothes. "She's not as forgiving as you are."

"Oh--I thought you meant--because she doesn't have big--I mean--" The poor girl was getting all red in the face, stumbling over her words. 

Her embarrassment was adorable. "That, too," he said, and winked at her, suddenly rediscovering the sense of humor he'd used last night to cheer her up. 

Amelia blushed harder, gave him a quick, bashful smile and fled the room. The stone man stared after her for a long time with a broad smile on his face. _She is so cute._

*

"So what did it feel like?" Lina asked as they sat together in the steaming-hot pool. 

"What?" Amelia was flustered, thinking about what had just happened between her and Zelgadis. She had just finished healing the bruises she'd gotten from Zelgadis during their unexpected, though exhilarating, encounter while she was in the water-closet so that Lina wouldn't see them and jump to the wrong conclusions--or the right ones. 

"Last night. Sleeping with Zelgadis."

"We--we didn't _sleep_ together--" Her face could hardly get any redder, but it tried. 

Lina gave her a sardonic look. "I didn't think so, but I meant--well, what was it like?" 

Amelia relaxed, realizing that Lina had not suddenly acquired the power of mind reading. "It was wonderful." Her eyes began to shine with remembered fondness. "After he told me--you know--I was feeling awful and he looked just as bad, and I wanted to hug him to make him feel better but he was holding himself back--you know, the way he always does--so I told him, 'come over here and comfort me', and he did."

"Guys always need to be told what to do." Lina grinned and leaned forward. "Then what?"

"He…let me lay on his chest and hugged me," Amelia's eyes were closed, remembering. "His hands felt really good, so warm and gentle... He rubbed my back a little, and rocked me until I fell asleep. Oh, before I fell asleep I made him promise to come see me in a year no matter what happens."

"Smart," Lina commented. "Knowing Zel, he'd just disappear on you."

Amelia gave Lina a contemplative glance, wanting to turn the conversation to a less disturbing subject. "You two were gone an awfully long time yesterday…tell me, are you and Mister Gourry…?"

The petite sorceress turned redder than her hair. "Did Zelgadis say something?"

"About what?"

Lina put a hand to the back of her head. "Well…I suppose it's time to tell you… Gourry and I are engaged." 

"I _knew_ it!" Lina was taken aback as the younger girl grabbed her in a big hug, splashing water everywhere. "I'm so happy for you! I told Zelgadis back before Tollik that you two had finally worked things out!"

"That long ago? Why didn't you say something?"

"Why didn't _you?"_

Amelia pulled back and the two girls looked at each other and burst into laughter.

The two of them spent several minutes soaking, taking comfort in the hot water and the familiar feminine companionship after the strange newness of their male relationships. Amelia's mind kept recalling all the details of her latest experiences with Zelgadis. _He's seen me naked--and I've seen _him! _And it was embarrassing and scary and…fun. I've never seen a man's… _She put her hands to her rosy cheeks, hoping that Lina would just think it was the hot water. _I didn't plan for it to happen, but I'm sort of glad it did. Now I'll be able to remember what he looked like, even if we can't--_

Her lips trembled, and she fought to control her tears. 

"Amelia?" Lina gave her a look of sympathetic understanding. "Don't worry. We'll think of something. You know me--never give up, right?"

Amelia nodded, a tear rolling down her cheek to drop into the water. "I'm afraid I'm all out of ideas."

"Well, think, Amelia. Did Zelgadis say _anything_ that might give us a clue as to what we're up against? Anything that could help us?" 

"He said…" She frowned in concentration. "He had to work it out for himself but that it wasn't likely that he'd be ready in time for the wedding." 

Lina raised a fine orange eyebrow. "Work what out?"

"Um…he never said."

"…So that means he's still got time to use this cure, right?"

Amelia's eyes widened. "I suppose so."

"So what's he waiting for, an engraved invitation?" Lina put her hands on her slim bare hips. "Are you _sure _he wants to marry you?"

"Oh, yes." Amelia smiled sentimentally, her eyes shimmering in remembrance. "He's so different when we're alone together…so thoughtful and tender, so gentle…" She clasped her hands together near her chin. "He's warm and kind and he smiles just for me… He even laughs sometimes. I know he would never want to hurt me. Yesterday Zelgadis told me never to change--that I was perfect just the way I am."

Lina blinked. "He…sounds really romantic. This is _Zelgadis?"_

Amelia nodded. "He told me I'm one of the few people he trusts… and he said he admired how I always look on the bright side. He even made fun of himself last night to cheer me up." 

"Zelgadis made _jokes?" _

Amelia nodded. "But it's the look in his eyes that makes me feel all…warm and tender inside. Zelgadis won't let himself say he loves me, because I think…then he feels it'll hurt him even more if we have to part…but it's there, in his eyes. And in his--I mean, I know he thinks I'm attractive." _Whew, I almost told Miss Lina about us seeing each other naked._

"Oh, he's been ogling you, has he? The pervert." Lina looked miffed, but not nearly as angry as Amelia would have thought. _Maybe she understands more, now that she and Mister Gourry have gotten together. _The princess was struck by a sudden fierce curiosity._ Do I dare ask her what she might have done with him?_

Lina tilted her head to the side. _"'Zelgadis'. _Since when have you been calling him that?"

Amelia looked self-conscious. "Well, since…off and on for a while, but since last night, really."

The two girls watched each other for a while, each silently musing. Finally Amelia's curiosity got the better of her. "Miss Lina…do you mind if I ask… Have you and Mister Gourry…um…done anything together?"

"A_mel_ia!" Lina's face went from peachy-pink to red in no time flat. 

"Well, you asked me!" The younger girl defended herself. "It's not fair that only you get to ask."

Lina scowled for a moment. "Well…yeah, we've done some stuff." She held up her hands, adding quickly, "But not all of it--I'm saving myself for marriage."

Amelia nodded understandingly. "Have you kissed him?"

"Yeah…" The red-haired sorceress looked as if she was daydreaming.

"Is it fun? What does it taste like? Did you bump noses?"

Lina rolled her eyes. "Yes, weird but not bad, and no. You mean you've never kissed Zelgadis, mister romeo, here?"

"Oh." The younger girl looked abashed. "I…I've tried to, a few times," she confessed, "but something always interrupted us."

"Really." Lina looked impressed. "Well, Gourry's fun to kiss, and it feels really weird when he holds me, but in a good way. I feel like I can't catch my breath, and I'm all tingly and…"

"And it's exciting," Amelia said instantly. 

"Yeah." Lina smiled at her friend. "It's nice to know someone understands." 

Amelia beamed back at her. "It is. I'm so lucky to have a friend like you."

"Oh, Amelia." Lina looked touched. 

A few minutes later Amelia commented, "Guess what? Zelgadis was right. When I went to the water-closet this morning I saw that I was already past my time of the month."

"…You talked to Zelgadis about _that?"_

*****************************************************************************

****

Author's Note: I decided to go with the version of Zel's body that we saw in the Miwan episode of Slayers Next, where the stones are fewer and smaller. Although the stones on his face seem to be arranged for protection, the randomly-scattered ones on his body seem to have no logical purpose other than to display the horror of having bits of rock-golem bursting from his body like symbols of his curse`d nature, so I decided to use the more aesthetically pleasing version of his body. 

I've wondered about some of Zelgadis' body parts. Honestly, you wouldn't expect him to function at all--stone just isn't flexible enough in the real world for a person to move, let alone have sexual functions. So I figured if Zel can blink stone eyelids and move the rest of his body with perfect flexibility, his male organ ought to be able to do the same things a human's would, i.e.- expand and contract. The only significant difference would be that his organ would be much less sensitive to stimulation, so it'd be kind of useless to try to follow through with any physical desires, either on his own or with a woman, so most likely he would have resigned himself to celibacy a long time ago. Many normal human males do so--monks, for example. They just accept that it's not a part of their lives, and think about other things instead. 

Not that Zelgadis can't be swayed by a woman's body! And he sure can't say Amelia's a child anymore, can he? I'd debated whether Amelia should scream and/or hit him as Lina would have, but honestly I think she's more reasonable than that. I figured if she were ever seen nude by someone she trusted, she would most likely be embarrassed, but not violent. Besides, she's _trying_ to get him interested in her! ^__^ 

And I thought it would definitely please Zel, if he understood that Amelia felt she could trust him enough to be naked together in the same room. Also, I think Zel would take his cues from Amelia--if she acted like it wasn't a big deal, he'd follow her lead. Of course, if she had freaked out… ^__^

My name-contest is drawing to a close--if anyone out there has any good ideas, now's the time to put them in a review. I like several of the ones I've already received, but it never hurts to be open-minded… ^__^

Oh, and minna-san, I'm still hoping for some good fanpics for my calendar…I have to create March's page within the next couple of days, and I'll probably do April's while I'm at it. I have some lovely ones so far, but I don't have enough for the rest of the year… 


	65. Chapter 65: The Flight of the Woodwind

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

Note: Dais--pronounced day-iss

WC stands for water-closet (toilet)

****

PG-13 for mild language and lime-i-ness

Chapter Sixty-Five: The Flight of the Woodwind 

"So how are we going to use this gem?" Gourry asked.

The group was sitting around one of the tables in the inn's big dining room. Amelia and Zelgadis had blushed when they first saw each other, remembering how they'd recently seen each other naked. Lina had commented on the chimera's new clothes, about which he had been quick to point out, "Amelia got them for me. They suit me, don't you think?"

Lina had looked at him in surprise for a few seconds, as if she was surprised that he was making sure that Amelia got the credit for his attractive new outfit. "Yeah--blue is definitely your color."

They were trying to decide the best way to use the flight-enhancing gem that Xellos had loaned them. "He suggested that we use some kind of craft," Lina remembered. "But we're in the middle of the mountains--are there any craft her _big_ enough to hold four people, a horse and a dragonwolf?"

"I doubt it," said a man two tables away. "We ain't got any lakes hereabouts."

"You could have the village carpenter build you one," another man suggested. "He could probably do it in about a week."

"That's too long." Lina dismissed that idea with a sharp gesture. "We're late already."

"Well, the only thing big enough fer what you's talking about is…is…the town dais."

"The what?" Zelgadis asked. 

"The dais--you know, where the mayor gives speeches. It's plenty big enough to hold all a' you. You could even add a coupla walls ta keep yer animals from fallin' off."

"Hey--that's perfect! I always knew I'd make it on stage!" Lina declared boastfully, grinning at her joke as the others groaned at her pun.

They got into a lively discussion about how to turn the town's center stage into a workable flying craft. Zelgadis was in favor of practicality. "We're going to be flying for a long time. From sunrise to sunset, if possible--we won't make any progress if we have to land every time somebody has to go."

"Privacy," Amelia mumbled, writing it down on a piece of paper that the hostess had given her.

"In that case, we're going to need a pitchfork to muck out Sunshine's area," Gourry piped up. 

Lina wrinkled her nose but had Amelia add that to the list of demands. "We're going to need a lot of stuff, but we did them a favor, getting rid of those sickos."

"As long as we don't ask for money…" Amelia suggested tactfully. Lina scowled at her, then smiled. 

"Of course not. We have your crest…as a matter of fact, if they give us any grief we'll just flash that and let them know they're providing aid to the future Queen of Seyrune."

The other three developed sweatdrops. Amelia's was the largest, for she had just remembered that Lina now knew about the crest that the princess had promised her father that she would hide from the red-haired big spender. 

It took a lot of negotiating, (or in Lina's case, browbeating), but eventually the party of six acquired not only the large wooden platform, but a generous supply of food, hay, water, and the cooperation of all of the town's best carpenters.

Some hours later their temporary 'home' was complete, and the intrepid travelers were ready to depart. As Zelgadis prepared to board, Lina seized one blue-clad arm and held him back. "Wait a minute, Zel, we have to name it first."

Zelgadis looked annoyed. "Do we have to waste time on this?" 

"Of course! A good name will bring us luck."

The chimera sighed, grumbling, "Fine. How about the Quest?"

"Too common," Lina said promptly. _"I _think we should call it the Sorcery Genius."

All three of her companions rolled their eyes. The petite sorceress looked at each of them and then said petulantly, "Well then, what would _you_ pick?"

"The Port." Zelgadis looked around at the befuddled expressions. "You know, 'any port in a storm'…" 

As they got the pun, there were groans of appreciation, but no one seemed to favor his name, so he added, "Or the Shield?"

Amelia said tentatively, "The…the Swan?"

"Swans are graceful. Does that look graceful to you?" Lina demanded. 

"No," Zelgadis said bluntly. "The words 'unwieldy' and 'blocky' spring to mind."

"How about the Stone Avenger?" Amelia suggested. 

"We want it to fly, not sink," Lina said scornfully. 

The discussion threatened to take longer than the construction, but then Gourry, who had remained unusually quiet, said softly, "The Woodwind?"

All eyes turned to him. "What did you say?" Lina asked in surprise.

"The Woodwind. My old friends Thornrose and Stara Maijka once said if they ever had a boat, they'd name it the Woodwind. This thing's made of wood, and we want it to fly on the wind, right?"

They were all silent for several seconds, repeating the name under their breaths. "I like it," Lina declared. "It's descriptive, yet artistic, and, well…pretty. "

"I like it, too," Amelia added. "It makes me think of music."

Zelgadis nodded in agreement.

"Then I hereby designate this craft the Woodwind!" Lina shouted triumphantly, and leaped aboard. The others followed, somewhat less dramatically, but gladly. 

Amelia, who had been off running a last-minute food errand, got Zelgadis to show her around the ship while Lina and her swordsman headed for the front section. The first thing the dark-haired princess did was inhale deeply, smiling. "Mmm, I love the smell of new wood, don't you?"

He looked a little surprised, but nodded, making a small sound of agreement.

The front and back ends of the ship were enclosed by sturdy wooden walls and partial roofs, like small sheds. The front looked as if someone had decided to build the shed with only three walls instead of four, one of them almost entirely a pane of glass, in front of which Lina was sitting.

"Wherever did you manage to get such a big piece of glass?" Amelia exclaimed, pleased. "I know how expensive glass like that is."

"A local shopkeeper had this in storage. Since glass is so expensive, nobody could afford to buy it, so Lina offered to 'take it off his hands'." The stone man cracked a smile. "He couldn't say no." 

"Not if he wanted to live," Lina interject, looking smug. 

"Ah…right." Amelia gave her friend a dubious glance, not sure if she was joking. "But it's wonderful--we can see out and not have to worry about the wind making our eyes all sore and watery." 

The middle of the craft had no side walls, but a section of cloth made a partition between the different areas. "I see Miss Lina got the tailor to give her that material she wanted," Amelia commented with a wry grin. 

The petite sorceress had set her sights on one of the most gaudy bolts of cloth that the princess had ever seen--bright shiny red, with enormous yellow stars scattered across it. It had been treated with oils to make it waterproof, to some extent, which would be useful when it rained. Then Lina had gotten the carpenters to nail two long thin pieces of wood between the roofs of the 'sheds' to connect them, and then she had fastened the cloth over the entire craft, as if she were making an enormous bed.

"It makes us look like a circus sideshow," Zelgadis gave Amelia with a sour look. "But at least it's a heavy, sturdy material. I suppose we can put up with it until we get to Seyrune. I hope you won't be too embarrassed to have people see you arrive in such a contraption."

The thought hadn't occurred to her, but then, she liked bright things too, if not quite as bright as those Lina preferred. "It's not that bad," she replied, trying to cheer him up. 

More sheets of stiff, heavy material in various vivid--sometimes garish--colors had been fastened securely to the Woodwind's interior to separate the front of the ship from the small storage area just behind it, which was piled high with food, containers of water, and bundles of hay.

Amelia couldn't decide whether to be amused or awed. _I think that tailor must have given Lina all the material no one else would buy. I can't believe the color combinations of some of these!_

The back end was completely enclosed. It held Sunshine's large stall and a tiny room next door with a chamber pot for bathroom breaks for the humans. "This is nice," commented the young princess. "It's just big enough for Sunny to be able to walk around a little and still be small enough to make her feel secure. I was a little worried about her--sweet-natured or not, she's still a horse. When she felt the ground moving under her feet I was afraid she'd try to run away, and fall off." 

"I know," Zelgadis answered. "That's why I made sure her stall is well-built."

She smiled up at him to show her appreciation and continued to look around at the rest of the odd structure. 

Finally, Zelgadis showed her how the overhead piece of cloth could be removed. "See," Zelgadis pointed out, "This way we can watch for dragons and other threats from the air."

"How clever!" Amelia beamed. "I like it. It's unusual-looking, but it's just what we need." _Sort of like our own little house, _she thought with unexpected tenderness, giving Zelgadis a fond glance.

He raised his stony eyebrows in mild puzzlement at her expression, but did not respond as Lina stuck her head out through the curtain. Gourry's head emerged just above hers as she said, "Okay, people, so let's get moving. I'll take the first shift--the rest of you get the animals comfortable and make me--I mean, us--something to eat." 

Already giving orders, Amelia thought, but shrugged, not caring who used the gem first. "Mister Zelgadis, what do you want to do?"

He hesitated. "If you don't mind, I'll stick close to Lina for a while. I want to see how this gem operates."

"I'll fix up Sunshine's stall," Gourry volunteered, heading for the back of the craft. 

Amelia held back a smile, knowing that the blonde swordsman probably wanted to be in the security of the mare's stall. _He's never been comfortable with flying of any kind. It must be so awful not to be able to do it. _"I'll make dinner," she said aloud. 

It had been decided that they couldn't risk an open fire in such a craft, so most of their food was dried or otherwise nonspoilable, which made for easy, if not succulent, meals. _Hmm, we do have tons of jars of condiments and jams, and fresh fruit…I wonder what Zelgadis would like? _

She decided to hold off on her meal preparations for a few minutes to watch as Lina settled herself in front of the huge window. The red-haired sorceress hung the beautiful faceted blue gem around her neck on a silver chain. 

"Are you sure you know how to make it work?" Zelgadis asked. 

"Sure. I tried it out yesterday while we were out after those…those…" Lina sounded as if she couldn't choose a word horrible enough to describe the two men who'd seriously wounded Amelia and had confessed to brutally violating several other women. 

"Villains?" Amelia offered.

Lina glanced at her. "Yeah. I used the gem to fly around looking for them, and boy, was it ever easy. I went up really high, and even had Gourry hug me--I mean hold onto me to see if his weight made any difference, and it didn't." She was quiet for a moment, then added offhandedly, "Then Shiran caught up to them while they were under some trees, and we heard the screams--"

"What?" Lina stopped talking as Amelia gave her a stricken look, then turned away. _No one told me it was Shiran. _The princess looked at the great beast, who was in her accustomed place at the princess' side, and noticed anew the dragonwolf's glowing emerald eyes, her huge, powerful body and her razor-sharp fangs. 

"Sorry," Lina said apologetically. "They really did deserve it, though…"

"I know," Amelia said, disturbed, trying not to imagine a scene with two humans being torn into bloody shreds by her beloved friend.

Zelgadis glanced at Lina, then faced Amelia. He hesitated, then stepped forward to lay a gentle hand on the small girl's shoulder, his face concerned. "Shiran was doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing, what she was bred to do--protect. Not only you, but all the people those men would have attacked in the future. It was…justice."

Amelia looked up at him, surprised to hear her favorite word come out of his mouth, and he gave her a smile. Suddenly they were all smiling, and Amelia felt warm all over. _He's starting to unbend a little, _she thought, and was glad.

*

Their first few days of travel were easy. The gem made flying so effortless that one person could use it for at least half a day before becoming too tired. After the first day or so, both Sunshine and Shiran had grown used to the constant background sound of rushing air and the gentle tilting of the floor, and spent their days drowsing peacefully. 

Fortunately they encountered no dragons, but several times they were forced to make emergency stops during sudden rain squalls. The window became impossible to see through once it became coated with thousands of tiny water droplets, even when each non-pilot cast light spells ahead of them. 

That idea worked, somewhat, but it was Zelgadis who soon realized the danger they were in. "Put out those lights. Not only are we flying blind, but those spells are like beacons saying, 'Here we are! Come eat us!'" 

Soon they all fell into a routine. Every morning they were up with the dawn. After a lengthy breakfast they lifted off, flying over lakes and rivers, mountains and chasms and all manner of things that would have balked them if they'd attempted to bring a horse along. 

They stayed airborne for most of the day, landing a couple of hours before sunset to fish and look for extra food to supplement what they'd been given. Amelia rode Sunshine as she searched, to give the mare a chance to work off some energy, while Shiran generally chose to accompany Zelgadis. 

After a bit of squabbling from Lina, who found the task of being a pilot rather boring, even though she relished the feeling of having total power over the ship, Zelgadis and Amelia had put their heads together to work out a balanced schedule of work shifts of approximately four hours per person. 

Lina watched the two of them sitting together, equably discussing work rotations, and shook her head. _Look at them. I could never do that for a living, managing others… I'd get so restless that I'd be bouncing off the walls in no time. _

For the first time in a long while, the petite sorceress noticed the contrasts: the chimera's shiny silver-blue hair opposite the princess' shining black tresses, her youthful cuteness contrasting with his strange features--somehow he managed to look both beautiful and ugly. _I think it's because you can see what a gorgeous man he used to be, and that makes it even more horrible, to see such good looks warped. But Amelia…only sees his beauty. I feel sorry for her…and yet, there are times when I catch a glimpse of what she must see, and I'm envious. _

He'd be such a help to her, if he were to marry her--gods, why doesn't he do_ something! Does he _want_ to lose her? What is he waiting for?_

* 

Later, Lina was taking her turn as pilot while Gourry was napping and the princess and the chimera were in the back, grooming the animals. It wasn't very bright in the mare's stall, since the only light came from around the edges of the curtains on the sides of the ship and those that separated the supply area from the front room, but both of them enjoyed the feeling of privacy. 

The little room smelled, naturally enough, like a stable, though between all of them they kept the area free of horse-pies, shoveling them up almost as soon as the mare deposited them and emptying the bucket over the side of the ship. 

Amelia always checked to see if there was anyone below, although if they were over a forest she could only pray that no one would receive a most unpleasant shower! 

"I haven't brushed a horse in years," Zelgadis commented, smiling as he carefully ran the brush through the golden mare's white mane. "I hope I'm not hurting her. I can't tell if I'm using the brush too hard or not."

"Watch to see if her skin ripples," Amelia suggested from where she was kneeling on the floor next to a reclining Shiran. She was using a smaller brush on the dragonwolf's lavender fur, and the animal seemed to enjoy it, closing her eyes in bliss. 

They continued at their tasks for a while, until Amelia said suddenly, "Those men were really beasts." 

Startled, Zelgadis looked up to see her sitting in the hay, staring off into space, her brush unmoving against Shiran's side. He knew at once that she was referring to the two men who'd attacked her at the inn. 

She continued, "It's not even that they were willing to kill me… I think what bothers me the most is how they treated me…like an insect, something to be ignored, as if I were of no account--just because I'm female."

Zelgadis nodded somberly. "Some men believe strength is superiority."

"I know that." He watched her free hand clench into a fist. "But it was the first time anyone has ever really treated me like that. It was awful, like they were just swatting a mosquito…like I wasn't even a real person to them."

He could see how much this upset her, and tried to think of something to say that would make her feel better. "I understand. Sometimes people think the same of me." 

"Oh!" Suddenly she was looking up at him with wide blue eyes. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say it like that!"

He blinked, puzzled, then understood. "That's all right--you didn't hurt my feelings. I just wanted you to know you're not alone." 

"Ohh…you're so sweet, Zelgadis." His eyes widened as her expression went from contrite to adoring, her hands clasped endearingly in front of her. "You always know what to say to make me feel better."

__

I do? Privately he doubted that, but he couldn't resist returning her smile with one of his own. He felt an impulse to go and kneel next to her in the hay and gather her into his arms, to console her from the obvious mental trauma that she was still suffering from, but something held him back. _One of the others might come back here to use the WC--she might be too worried that someone would see us…_

He was projecting his own qualms onto the girl, but in reality it was his _own_ fear of intimacy that held him back. Vaguely he realized this, but the idea that someone would welcome his touch--not just for comfort, or during special moments, but any time, was _still_ almost inconceivable. He was literally almost completely unable to initiate intimate contact, although he could respond warmly once Amelia took that first step. 

The stone man looked down at the mare's golden coat, breaking eye contact with the princess, and sighed. _I'm sure she wouldn't want me to, anyway. _

*

This isn't much faster than walking, as far as speed goes, Zelgadis mused one day as he watched a large lake dragon bellow up at them from its watery habitat, _but we can keep up a good, steady pace, and it _definitely _smoothes out a lot of the snags. _

His eyes glazed over a bit as he recalled his last encounter with a water dragon. _If not for Amelia's bracelet, Lina wouldn't have been able to locate me and I'd have drowned. _He remembered the cold and the dark and the pain…and then an image of a curious rose-colored light appeared in his mind. _I was dying, drifting, when this shining light appeared and I felt such love and devotion emanating from it…and now I know who it was. _

He glanced at Amelia, who was playing a strategy game with Lina and Gourry, using pebbles as tokens. He smiled as she laughed, and brushed her raven-black hair out of her eyes with one delicate hand. _Her hair is longer than I've ever seen it. I wonder if she's growing it out? _he thought idly, returning his attention to the window before the ship started to drift off course. 

He didn't remember consciously figuring out that Amelia was the source of the loving light; it had just seemed obvious, in retrospect. _It's because of the connection the ward bracelets give us, I guess. That night at the inn when we slept in the same bed… I woke up the next morning from that dream I have every once in a while, of that beautiful rose-colored light, and when I opened my eyes and looked at Amelia I suddenly _knew_--and then I wondered why I'd never made the connection before… _

**************************************************************************** 

****

Author's Note: Zelgadis is thawing at last! Hooray! He let Lina see a tender moment between himself and Amelia! (that whole 'justice' bit)

There aren't any factories or industrial manufacturing in the Slayers' world, is there? So I figure the glass-making process must be fairly time-consuming and thus expensive, like it was around the (last) turn of the century here in America. Technically it should be called a windshield or a windscreen, but that reminds me too much of a car, so I opted for calling it just a window. 

Did you notice that the material Lina coveted is red and yellow--hers and Gourry's colors? 

Got a question for you all--what kind of endearment (love-words) would Zelgadis call Amelia, if not by her name? I'm trying to decide. 

*******************

Congratulations to **Stara Maijka **and **Thornrose** for the winning name of the craft! It's a lovely name, and it helps keep my fic's subtheme 'music' alive. 

Honorable mentions in my Name That Craft contest:

****

Jamfase-- Iwa-Kokoro--Stone-Heart in Japanese

****

Purr-- Piece of Junk / Peace Junket   


****

Sagara Sanosuke --Amelia: Shining Victory! (complete with The Finger painted on the side of the craft) 

****

Knid --For the ship my suggestions are Zephyr (the West wind in Greek mythology, also a gentle breeze) or Zither, which is a stringed musical instrument.

  
** methodic madness**-- Windsong or Aria - it's a type of music, sounds somewhat similar to "air", and the word itself makes me think of something airy or light.

*********************

About chapter 64:

****

Claudia22 Thanks for the info about the manga--I'm glad Amelia's been portrayed in a way similar to how I thought she would act. The Slayers' world is pseudo-Japanese, right? And public bathing is definitely more common there than in the US, even if mixed-sex bathing is rare these days. 

I guess I surprised a few people in the last chapter, ne? I thought about it for a long time, about how Zel and Amelia would react in such a situation, and decided against having them flip out. While that would be in character with their old Slayers' personas, they've grown a little, changed a little; just enough so that instead of being angry and embarrassed, they were both able to see the humor in the situation and even manage to relax a little and let themselves look at the other person's body openly, with admiration, _and_ let the other person see that admiration.

Of course, his would _not _have happened if Zelgadis hadn't had over forty chapters to assimilate the idea that Amelia loves him and wants to marry him! ^__^ People like him have to take their time making any truly major changes to their mind-set, get used to new ideas slowly, for their own peace of mind. Amelia didn't have as much of a problem--she trusts Zel wholeheartedly, and plus she knows how girls can get men's attention with their bodies--not that she'd have done it on purpose, but I'm sure she was pleased to know her body could make him react (in more ways than one! ^__~ 

It never occurred to me that Amelia might worry that Zel would think of her physically as a child, as **jadz_i_ka **mentioned, but that makes sense. Of course, _we_ know that Zel is all-too-aware of Amelia's body, but _she_ doesn't! ^__^  



	66. Chapter 66: The Breakdown

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

Note: 

PG-13 for mild language and lime-i-ness

Chapter Sixty-Six: The Breakdown 

One day Lina made a discovery, although it would take time--and a few clues--before she quite realized it. 

Amelia was using the gem and Zelgadis was in the back with Gourry, tending to Sunshine. (Lina had never imagined the stone man wanting to care for an animal, but he seemed to enjoy brushing both the mare and Shiran with the brushes that Amelia had brought along for her other horse, the one that had died.) Lina was feeling bored, and decided to assuage her curiosity about a few things, with the guys out of the picture for a while.

She dropped down next to Amelia, who was humming cheerfully as she guided the ship over a long boring stretch of rice paddies. "So, Amelia, what did you and Zelgadis do together while you were searching for us, back when Ponmar captured us? Anything…fun?" She winked mischievously at her friend.

"Well, he…held my hand all night long when I couldn't sleep," Amelia said shyly, keeping her voice low.

"Really." The red-haired sorceress raised an eyebrow, surprised. _I'm surprised she admitted that. …Gourry's never done that. Of course, we haven't exactly been alone… _"What else?" 

"I almost kissed him when I accidentally knocked him down and fell on him. I really wanted to, but Shiran interrupted us." 

"You _what?"_ Lina looked at her friend with disbelief for a long moment, gradually getting used to that idea. _She's really growing up. _"Did he try to kiss you?"

"Oh, no, he was a perfect gentleman. I could see he wanted to, but…"

"Anything else?" Lina asked eagerly. 

"I told him about my mother and he held me while I cried." 

The petite sorceress spoke before she thought. "What about your mother?" 

Amelia's expression became strained. "How she was brutally slayed by an intruder while my sister watched. How I thought it was my fault, and how stupid I felt later when I learned that it wasn't…" 

Lina's mouth hung open in shock. "I never knew that!" she blurted out. "I mean, I knew she was dead, but not that she'd been _murdered! _Did they ever catch who did it?"

Amelia nodded. "Yes, although no one is sure that he was working alone." 

Lina gazed at the younger girl, who looked suddenly small and vulnerable. "I'm sorry, Amelia…I…" She trailed off, wanting to say something besides 'sorry', something to cheer her friend up.

The princess gave her a brave smile. "It's okay, Miss Lina. It was…a long time ago."

The redhead scooted over to put her arm around the princess' shoulders, giving her a warm hug in lieu of words to show her support. Amelia put her arm around Lina's waist. "You know, I never told that to anyone but Zelgadis. It's my most closely guarded secret--but somehow today I felt like telling you."

"I'm glad, Amelia," Lina said softly.

Two lustrous heads of hair, one fiery-red, the other shining-black, were side by side as the two friends sat with their arms around each other, gazing together at the wide open countryside ahead of them--where their destinies awaited. 

*

The next day something very disturbing happened to the petite sorceress, something she might have brushed off as just a crazy impulse if not for her earlier conversation with Amelia. 

All four of them were in the main area. Lina was piloting, Zelgadis was helping Amelia prepare lunch, and Gourry was sitting near Lina, talking to her to keep her from being too bored. (When she was bored she tended to entertain herself by flying the Woodwind near trees and things, testing how close she could come. They had already had a near-disaster with a giant pine tree, and needles still sprouted from one corner of the craft.)

"So in my dream I was eating a fish, but it wasn't really a fish, it was a big pastry _shaped_ like a fish--hey Lina, why don't bakeries ever do that? Make fish-bread, or whatever…" The big man trailed off. "Hey, Lina, are you okay? Your eyes look sort of glazed."

The redhead shook away the cobwebs, trying not to look at the handsome swordsman's muscular chest, which was more noticeable now that he had stopped wearing his armor over his shirt. (There hadn't seemed to be any need for it--the only things that could attack them up here were winged beasts like dragons, and in that case they would definitely want to use magic to ward it off before it got anywhere close, so as not to damage the ship.) 

"I'm okay. I'm just so _bored!" _

Gourry looked at her sympathetically. "Hey, I know…if you could do anything you wanted to right now, what would you do?" 

Instantly Lina said, "Kiss you. A lot. Then I'd run my fingers through your hair and--"

"Lina!" The swordsman was waving his hands in front of him, trying to shush her, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. "We're not alone!"

She knew that he was still trying to respect her wishes about keeping their relationship quiet, but somehow at that particular moment she had felt compelled to answer him honestly. Then, as she looked at the stunned expressions of both the chimera and the princess, she felt a hot blush rise to her cheeks. "Gourry! Why didn't you stop me sooner?" she shrieked, swinging at him. 

It missed because in her anger she had eased up on her control, and the entire craft abruptly pitched sharply to one side. Everything began to slide toward the edge as the humans and animals alike cried out in fear. 

Zelgadis moved like lightning, seizing the gem's chain and dragging it roughly over Lina's head, snagging several strands of red hair. "Ow!" she yelled as he brought the ship under control, his expression strained. 

All of them were panting from the sudden scare. Zelgadis glared down at her. "Go cool down, Lina!" he ordered, obviously furious that she had once again let her temper put them in danger. He turned his back on her and settled the silver chain over his head, the long red-gold strands dangling like decorations. 

Lina was torn between outrage at being rebuked like a child, and sickening guilt at having nearly caused a disaster. She found her breath coming in pants from reaction. She looked for support from her friends, and saw that Amelia was looking at her reproachfully. 

She steeled herself to look at Gourry, dreading to see the same condemnation, and nearly cried when she caught his look of sympathy. "I'm sorry!" she blurted out to all of them, and dodged through the curtain, running through the supply area to Sunshine's stall. The red-haired sorceress barely noticed the frightened mare's retreat as she fumbled with the gate's latch, feeling the tears burning in her eyes. Finally she jerked the latch open and stumbled inside. Habit made her close and re-latch the gate before she dropped to her hands and knees in the hay and let out a sob. 

Instantly she clamped her mouth shut, fighting it. _What's _happening_ to me? One minute everything's fine and the next it's all gone crazy. _She sucked in a quick, jerky breath, trying to control herself._ Why did I _say_ that in front of them? I didn't even know I was going to and then my mouth opened and I sat there listening to myself, and then--_

Her entire body shook, her fingernails digging into the wood underneath the hay as she held her breath, trying desperately not to give into tears. _I don't cry, I don't cry, I'm Lina Inverse, damn it, I _don't cry! 

She became aware of Shiran snuffling at her face. She swatted feebly at the dragonwolf, and the noble beast jerked her head back, looking at her with bewildered emerald eyes. Another sob ground its way out as she reached for the furry lavender head. "I'm sorry, Shiran…"

The big animal came closer, and licked her on the cheek with a gentle tongue. The instant forgiveness undid her, and she reached out and hugged Shiran's shaggy neck, alternately holding her breath and letting out a sob when it got too big to hold in.

She didn't hear the gate open, but when she felt a pair of warm hands on her shoulders she jumped and tightened her grip around Shiran's neck, hiding her face in the thick fur. She took a deep, shuddery breath and held it, hating to give in to such weakness. 

Gourry's hands began to massage her shoulders, gently showing her his love without making a big deal out of it. _That's so like him-- _"Oh, Gourrryyy!" she wailed, and she felt his body press against hers from behind, his arms reaching around her to embrace her middle. 

And she cried, her way, not with waterfalls of tears and loud wails like Amelia, but almost silently, with deep, wrenching, gasping sobs, her eyes hot and stinging, her body shaking as it struggled to contain her misery. 

Eventually the spasms passed, and she spent more time relaxing against her two comforters, tired out from the emotional upheaval. When she reached the stage where she only had occasional shaky breaths, Gourry gently pulled her away from the patient dragonwolf and tucked her against him, her head under his chin as they sat curled up together in the sweet hay. After a few moments he began to rock her gently from side to side, humming one of the tunes he'd used before in Ponmar's cell to comfort her. 

Her nose was all stuffed up, and she sniffed. _I must look awful._

"Here, Lina," Gourry said quietly, moving her with him as he leaned over to pick up a pretty blue handkerchief in the hay nearby. 

That's Amelia's. Lina glanced up, expecting to see the princess hovering over the stall wall, but no one was there. She was touched by her friend's thoughtfulness. _I guess this means she forgives me. _She turned away from Gourry and wiped her wet face mostly dry, then blew her nose, grimacing at the sound. "Oh, gross," she whispered, appalled that her voice had gone, leaving behind only a wispy croak. 

"It'll wash out," he murmured reassuringly, kissing the top of her head. 

Her heart melted, and she dropped the handkerchief in the hay and snuggled into his chest as closely as she could, pressing her damp face against his warm, solid chest muscles, glad that he had removed his armor. She breathed in his masculine odor--a smell that had once meant danger, but now it was one of the scents she loved best. The petite sorceress sighed contentedly, loving the feel of him breathing against her, his soothing hands stroking her long hair, wanting only to bask in the warmth of his love. 

Several minutes later a drowsy Lina felt a warm pressure against her hips. She jumped slightly. _Gourry? _A small smile appeared on her lips as she realized that she didn't mind his boldness at all. With her eyes closed, she moved her hand down to touch his hand--and encountered thick fur. _Huh? _Her eyes popped open to see that Shiran had curled up next to her, leaning her big lavender bulk against her. After a moment the petite sorceress realized that she was disappointed. 

Then Lina heard the muffled thump of a hoof-fall, and felt her hair being ruffled by velvety-soft horse's lips. She couldn't help but giggle at the strange, tickly sensation.

"See, Lina? Even Sunshine wants to comfort you." She could hear the smile in Gourry's tone as he continued, "So don't be sad, okay? We all forgive you. We love you. Everything's going to be all right."

Lina felt a surge of affection for this wonderful man. She leaned back in his arms to look up deeply into his beautiful sky-blue eyes, eyes that looked back at her with concern, and then relief as she smiled for him. "I love you, Gourry," she said softly, and kissed him.

*

Amelia and Zelgadis sat together in front of the window, each of them secretly dreading hearing a recurrence of the terrible sobbing from the back of the ship. "I've never seen her cry like that--never seen her cry at all. It scared me," Amelia confesses, wringing her hands. "Something really big must be wrong."

Zelgadis felt shaken and guilty to have seen Lina--the epitome of the phrase 'tough as nails'--reduced to such misery. "Was it what _I_ said?" 

Amelia answered, "I don't know… You wouldn't think so--usually she just fights back when somebody yells at her, even if it's her fault. This wasn't like her at all. I want to go back there, but I think she needs Mister Gourry right now. Oh, what could be wrong with her?"

Zelgadis stared grimly ahead, feeling a strange tension inside at the wrongness of the whole situation. 

Eventually the two of them halfheartedly ate their midday meal. "I've never seen Miss Lina skip a meal--maybe I should bring her something?" Amelia said hesitantly. "Maybe she's sick again?

Zelgadis relaxed a little. "Could be. Maybe she had a relapse of whatever she caught when she and Gourry were taken prisoner."

"Of course, that must be it!" Amelia looked relieved. "I'll bring her a little food and then come 

back and take over from you so you can go see her."  


"The two of us can alternate shifts until she's feeling better," Zelgadis decided, and Amelia nodded. He watched her gather up some food, using a spare board as a makeshift tray, and head out back through the curtain. 

There was a long silence, and then his sharp hearing detected Amelia's familiar footsteps returning over the usual rushing-wind background noise. He glanced at her as she emerged from the heavy, swaying curtain, still holding the tray of food. "How is she?" 

Amelia didn't answer him, so he looked up again to see her staring past him out of the window. Her cheeks were very pink. "Um…she's feeling better, I think."

"'You think?'" he repeated, perplexed. "You didn't ask her?"

"Well…um, they were kissing."

"……" Zelgadis cleared his throat. "Oh." His face became as red as Amelia's, and the two avoided looking at each other. 

*

Lina would have been content to spend the rest of the day in Gourry's arms, but her stomach said otherwise. After trying staunchly to ignore its growling for probably the first time in her life, she finally gave in and lifted her face from where she was resting it against Gourry's shoulder. "Hey, Gourry, you hungry?"

"No," he answered, looking at her lips hopefully. 

He was still being careful not to touch her anywhere too 'sensitive', which both annoyed and reassured her. She was still in control. _But I think I'm ready to do something new, something different…something…more. _

Her stomach growled again, louder. She rolled her eyes. _Maybe I'm _not_ the one in control after all. _"Well, I'm starving. Crying always does that to me, so let's go get something to eat, okay? We can…" She trailed off, about to say 'we can pick up where we left off' but thinking about leaving the privacy of the mare's stall caused her to suffer a flash of self-consciousness. _What have Amelia and Zelgadis been doing all this time? The handkerchief proves that Amelia's been over here at least once, maybe more. What if she saw us?… _

For a moment she hesitated, almost changing her mind about leaving. Then she shook herself and resolutely stood up. _Even if I wasn't hungry, I'd have to face them sometime. And it's not like they didn't know Gourry and I are engaged or anything…_

Determinedly she marched to the front of the ship, with Gourry following. Zelgadis and Amelia were sitting together in front of the window, quietly talking. They looked up as Lina pushed aside the curtain. She opened her mouth, then closed it, blushing, vividly remembering what she'd said to Gourry earlier in their presence. '_I want to kiss you. A lot…' How humiliating._

The princess and the chimera seemed no less embarrassed. Neither seemed willing to meet her eyes. Gourry looked back and forth between his friends and said, "What's with all the silence? Look, guys, Lina's sorry she almost flipped us over, right, Lina?"

"Uh--yeah," she agreed hastily, nodding vigorously. 

"And she promises not to do it again, right?"

"Yeah."

"So all's forgiven, okay?" Gourry crossed his arms and looked at them all like a wise old elder. 

He's missed the reason why we're all uncomfortable, but as long as it gets things back to normal, what's the difference? Lina thought as her two friends, still looking discomfited, dutifully forgave the red-haired sorceress.

Then, before things could get awkward again, she asked, "Okay, so where's the food?" 

"Oh, you're feeling better, Miss Lina?" Amelia beamed at her as she stood up and went to retrieve the food she'd set aside. "We were afraid you'd had a relapse."

"No, I'm--" Lina stopped, wondering, _Is _that_ it? I'm sick again? Is that why I acted like that? But I don't _feel_ sick… _"I don't know…" she said uncertainly. 

"Well, if you feel sick tomorrow, Zelgadis and I can cover your shift." Amelia's tone was almost motherly. 

Lina grinned wickedly. _Maybe I _am_ feeling a little ill…if it gets me the day off work! _

******************************************************************************

****

Author's Note: Is it out of character for Lina to cry? She only did once in the series, and then she didn't get worked up or anything, she just kind of marveled that her eyes wouldn't stop tearing. I wasn't sure how to portray her having a real crying spell, but being Lina I'm sure she hates crying and does everything she can to avoid it, like me, so I basically gave you all a description of how _I _cry--minus the comforting man and dragonwolf. 

You see, we just put our old dog to sleep yesterday, (November, 2003) so I was a little more in touch with the melancholy side of myself than usual. Normally I avoid crying like the plague--I don't understand how people say it makes them feel better--I always feel like I've got the flu afterwards. 

Buuut _this_ time there's another reason besides the usual Lina-chaos behind what just happened--can you guess it? 

And by the way, I would love a fanpic of this scene! So dramatic! Sometimes I even surprise myself. ^__~

****

Sagara Sanosuke comments (about the saw-you-naked scene):** '**this is the best example I've seen in handling the topic without flowery language or downright vulgarity.' 

* Thanks! I was kinda worried that I might offend some people, but so far nobody's said anything bad. I had a hard time deciding what to call Zel's you-know-what, because honestly I don't care for nearly all of the common terms people use. They tend to be either babyish or vulgar, neither of which is appropriate for my particular fic, so I opted for 'obvious descriptions' instead of a using a particular word. I was going to use a Japanese term instead, but since I don't know what connotations may exist for whatever word I happen to choose, I decided not to get into that. I do know one term that is mainly used for toddlers, but since Zel is definitely more than three years old, at least I knew enough not to use that one. ^__^ 

Thanks for the info, **Aisha C! **I didn't know Ame meant sweets/candy/sweet in Japanese--kawaii! Of course, Zel would probably be embarrassed to call her that in front of people, but it's a wonderful pet name for her. I think **Sagara Sanosuke's **suggestion of 'My Lady' would be a good one for him to use on her in public. 

Hey, the other day I was reading about a man from Japan who's made his home in the USA and he was describing some of the more subtle differences in our cultures, and one thing struck me as very interesting: people in love almost never say "I love you" to each other. It's apparently a very strongthing to say to someone, something you only say on very special occasions. We usually see subtitles translated as 'I love you' whether they are saying 'daisuki' or 'aishiteru' but guess what? 'Daisuki' is a less heavy kind of love, more like "I really care about you," or "I really like you,", but 'aishiteru' has strong sexual tones to it. A mother would never say that to her children. Even married couples don't really say it to each other. It's the kind of thing they put in romance movies/novels/manga, not something you say in real life. By the way, 'daisuki' is pronounced "**die**-sk'i" and 'aishiteru' is pronounced "**aye**sh'**ter**u". Nowadays I automatically translate it in my head into the proper term when I hear it on TV, no matter how the subtitle company translated it. (Some use 'love' some use 'like' some use 'care', etc…)

In the paragraph above, when Lina and Gourry each said something about love, Gourry's statement was definitely a 'daisuki' situation, but Lina's could have snuck over into the 'aishiteru' category, in my opinion. She _was_ feeling a bit, shall we say, amorous, after all… ^__^


	67. Chapter 67: It's About Time! The Big C...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG-13 for mild language and lime-i-ness

Note: A geis (pronounced gaysh) is basically a magical compulsion. 

Chapter Sixty-Seven: It's About Time! The Big Confession 

Later that evening Lina was relaxing by the campfire. Amelia had adopted a maternal attitude toward the petite sorceress, telling her not to move while they all went out looking for game and firewood. 

Sitting alone, Lina had a lot of time to think. _I haven't broken down like that since…I can't remember. Since I was little… And it wasn't even that terrible a situation. I mean, yes, normally I'd have been horribly embarrassed, and mad as hell, but it wasn't something I'd actually _cry _about. Amelia cries a lot… Does being in love turn you into a crybaby? _She shook her head. _No…I've loved Gourry for years, but I've _never_ cried like that, not since I can remember, not even when I lost him. _

So what else could it be? …What's changed? What's different about our situation? Well, right now we're using Xellos' gem to fly Amelia back to Seyrune on the Woodwind, and then--Oh! The gem! 

She grabbed the silver chain around her neck and pulled the gem out to where she could see it. The golden firelight shone through the rich, deep blue gem's facets, turning it various vivid shades of green and teal. Try as she might, she could see no sorcerer's mark embedded in it, but she removed the gem and put it to the side for now. 

That's got_ to be it, _she decided. _I should have known better than to trust anything _Xellos_ gives us for free! _She tried to remember whether the gem had made her feel any differently than usual when she wore it. _Not that I could tell…and anyway, wouldn't it have affected the others, too? _

She bit her lip thoughtfully, trying to recall if either of her friends had acted out of character in the last few days. _I'm not sure about Zelgadis…and Amelia… Oh! The other day she was telling me about Zel and her mother--now what did she say? Um, something about a secret, one she'd never told anybody except Zelgadis. She didn't freak out or anything, but I wonder if…maybe…if the gem made her tell the truth? Everything, with no holding back. _

That would explain why it doesn't seem to affect us much, since we're all basically pretty honest with each other. The petite sorceress was somewhat reassured. _I just hope no one asks me anything embarrassing. _

But wait a minute… I did more_ than just tell the truth; I completely freaked out. _She scratched an itch on her arm. _Maybe it depends on how long you wear it--I was almost done my shift when it happened to me. Or maybe it was because we were in danger, maybe…it brings hidden _emotions _to the surface, too. If you're under stress. That makes sense, 'cause if it made you act on your emotions _all_ the time, Zel and Amelia would've been all lovely-dovey by now. _

One side of her mouth turned up in a smirk. _Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing. It might make that stubborn chimera listen to his heart for once, and open up and--that's it! _

In the amber light of the campfire, the ruby eyes of a young master sorceress gleamed mischievously as she made her plans for the morrow. 

*

Lina spent most of the following day feigning illness, letting Amelia wait on her hand and foot and judiciously testing the power of the gem by asking questions of the wearer. 

With Amelia, she had to ask questions that she knew Amelia would normally lie to out of politeness. "What do you think of Martina's fashion sense?"

"Does your father ever embarrass you?"

"Have I ever done anything that really made you angry, Amelia?" 

Boy, did I get an earful on that one! Normally she might have been angry, but she was too pleased at the success of her plan so far._ At least I know it works the way I thought it did. And when it's Zelgadis' turn, I am _so_ going to let him have it! Better not tell Amelia in advance, though, she'd probably make a fuss about it not being fair or just or whatever, and she might tell Zel. _

The petite sorceress frowned. _Amelia asked me not to say anything about her getting married. Well, then…I won't. I'll get _Zelgadis _to talk about it, not me. Heh heh heh. _

Lina waited until just before the end of the chimera's shift, which had been extended somewhat to make up for her absence. _Good, we're over a big lake. Even if he _wants_ to, he can't land us here! _She rubbed her hands together in delight. _Now I'm _finally_ going to get some answers around here! _A smirk crossed her face. _And Zel, here's where I finally give you some payback. _

The four of them were gathered in the main area. Amelia was sitting next to the chimera, and Lina sat behind her with Gourry sprawled nearby, leaning on one elbow. None of them realized that they were all about to become involved in the personal grudge-match of a very cunning master mage. 

"Hey, Zel," Lina said in a deliberately casual tone, "What exactly did the Oracle say to you again?"

The stone man gave her a quick glance over his shoulder, then quickly returned his attention to the window. "She said a lot of things."

Hm. Lina made a face, pushing her lips to one side._ Technically true, but I need more. This is going to be more of a challenge than I thought. _"I know, but did she give you your cure?"

Zelgadis hesitated, surprised at the sudden interrogation. _I told Amelia I didn't have one yet--that I needed to work it out first. I should say 'no'. _

"……Yes," the chimera heard himself say slowly. 

Lina heard Amelia gasp.

Zelgadis was aghast, his eyes bulging in their stone sockets. _What am I saying? _

Lina smirked. _Okay, I pretty much knew that, so now-- _"But using the cure isn't going to be easy, is it, Zelgadis?" 

"No." 

Lina noticed that Amelia's eyes were opened wide, and she was leaning toward Zelgadis, obviously riveted. Lina snorted. _This is no good. I've got to get away from questions that have simple yes and no answers. _"What's keeping you from using the cure?" _Now we'll see if I'm right about the geis._

"I…" Zelgadis clamped his mouth shut. _I can't tell them that! If Amelia knew, she'd want to--_

Lina felt a zing of alarm. _Uh, oh, he's fighting it. What do I do? _She bit her lip. 

This was a different sort of battle; instead of spells and swords and purely physical threats, this one was mental, of guile and persuasion. The crafty sorceress relied on one of her most formidable assets--her mind._ Oh, yeah, it works better if you're under stress. I've got to turn up the heat--but I don't want to overdo it or he'll dump us all in the drink. Good thing I'm a good actress! _"Tell us," she demanded. "Tell us _right now! Why_ can't you use the spell?" 

Zelgadis fought the rising tide inside of him, the growing urge to let it all out, sensing the great relief looming just beyond the self-imposed barrier, and wanting it badly. _I've been hiding this for so long--no! I've got to think of Amelia! _

Lina watched as the chimera's hands clenched and unclenched in his lap. "B-because--" he stuttered.

"Please, Zelgadis." Surprised, Lina turned to see Amelia sitting with her hands clasped in front of her, begging him for enlightenment. Her eyes were shimmering, and the anguish on her little face was heartbreaking. _"Please," _she pleaded, "If we can't be together, then at _least _I want to know _why! _Please…I want to know..." 

Lina swallowed as she heard Amelia's voice crack wretchedly. _Oh, Amelia… _Her fists clenched, and she glared at the stone man. Her efforts were having their effect; he was panting, fighting some kind of terrible internal battle, and his stone forehead was wet with rare sweat. 

"Because…" Zelgadis looked into those sapphire eyes and felt himself going under as a tidal wave of emotions threatened to drown him in sweetness and agony. His voice was rising in pitch with every word, nearing hysteria. _"Because…" _

Lina completely lost it, leaping up and grabbing the front of his tunic, yanking his face within inches of hers. _"Tell us!" _ she shrieked at him as she fought for her best friend's happiness.

_ ****_

"Because I love her!" The primal roar held anguish, passion, grief, snapping Lina out of her rage. It was the agonized howl of a tormented soul, the kind of cry she never wanted to hear again. The Woodwind began to yaw sideways, but before it got too far Lina slapped a hand over the gem where it rested on the chimera's chest and focused her will on keeping the ship steady. 

After a few moments of intense concentration she heard a deep gasp and looked at Zelgadis. He was weeping! His head was bowed and he had one hand covering his face, but there was no mistaking the hunched, shuddering shoulders or the quick, strangled gasps, which sounded, Lina realized with a shock, almost exactly the way she had sounded yesterday when _she_ had been the one who'd broken down. _It brings out hidden feelings…_

"If you love her, don't you want to be cured?" Gourry asked suddenly, his tone gentle. 

Lina gave him a grateful glance, having her hands full with flying the ship while fighting the way it wanted to hurl itself all over the place, no doubt reacting to the turmoil in Zelgadis' mind. _But I can't take back the gem yet--we still don't know what's wrong. He's too smart to not to catch on to the gem's powers, especially after what I did yesterday. He won't be caught off guard again! _

She glanced at Amelia and almost _did_ lose control at the heart-rending way her friend was looking at the stone man. The princess' eyes sparkled with tears, but her expression held more joy than sorrow. _He's finally admitted he loves her. No matter what happens after this, at least she has this much._

"…Of course I do." Zelgadis' voice was hoarse and broken, his slight frame displaying defeat and despair. "More than anything. But you see, I can't."

"Why not?" Lina and Gourry asked simultaneously.

"Because Amelia's in danger."

"What?" Again the bright-haired pair echoed each other. 

"From who?" Gourry asked.

"How?" Lina demanded.

__

Get a hold of yourself, Zelgadis! Slowly the chimera visibly pulled himself together, sitting up straight and squaring his shoulders as if getting ready for a battle. 

Lina noticed that the brief release of tears--which had made his stone cheeks wet and shiny--seemed to have washed away some of his tension, and slowly let go of the gem. The ship wavered a little, then steadied, hovering in place over the center of the cerulean lake. 

"The Oracle said…that Amelia had to be the one to cast the spell. That is, she has to cast the main part…but it's incredibly difficult--dangerous--to balance all the dark forces within herself. Sometimes the caster is overwhelmed." Zelgadis glanced at the young princess and saw that she was listening avidly, her blue eyes wide and absorbing. He looked away, unable to meet her gaze. 

"Why _Amelia?" _Lina asked. "Why not me? If anybody's got experience controlling dark magics, I do. Why put _Amelia_ in danger?" 

Now Zelgadis blushed, which made Lina raise an eyebrow, intrigued. "The Oracle said…" He stopped and cleared his throat uncomfortably, and continued, "Well, first of all, there have to be three mages. One of black magic, one of Shamanistic, and one of white…"

"Okay, we have that many…" Lina commented, but the chimera shook his head.

"I can't participate. The Oracle said the one thing a chimera can't do is unmake himself."

"So, who--"

"Xellos." The stone man's face twisted into a scowl. "I hate having to ask that--that--_mazoku_ for anything, but the Oracle said he has the words to the spell--the basic template, you might say. It has to be customized to each individual chimera." 

"He _does? _Then why didn't you _say_ anything the last time we had him with us?" Lina was exasperated. "Fine, I'll call him. Xel--mph!"

Zelgadis had covered her mouth with his hard stone hand. She glared at him with deadly ruby eyes, and he hastily released her. "Not now. Please," he said quietly.

The unexpected 'please' mollified her, reducing her anger from a boil to a simmer. "I don't get you, Zelgadis. It sounds like we have everything we need. So _where _is the _problem? _Is there some kind of geis on you or something?" 

"No, that's not it. It's…Amelia." The stone man's face began to show signs of the tremendous strain he'd been under for weeks now, and Lina notice how he avoided looking at the dark-haired princess, staring out the front window at the leafy trees on the lake's far shore. "I don't want her involved. The Oracle said there was a chance she could lose her mind or even die…" 

The two girls' eyes met, and without a word being spoken between them Lina understood that the young princess was going to let her do the questioning. _This is hard enough for him to talk about to _me, _let alone the girl he's in love with._

"Is she not powerful enough, even now that the Barrier's down? Do we need to find someone stronger?" Lina gestured toward the dark-haired girl with one hand. "If she _isn't _strong enough, then why did the Oracle say that _Amelia_ has to be the one to cast it?" 

That's the key question, all right. Look at his face! The chimera was blushing again, a wide band of pink over his nose, and Lina could tell that if he could have, he would have refused to answer. 

"The spell…has a much better chance of success if the, ah, sorceress casting the spell is…in love with me." His entire face went almost lavender. _Why am I saying all this? I can't stop myself. _

"What?" all three of his friends exclaimed together. 

Disconcerted, he ran a hand through his hair, the fine metal strands making a silvery sound against his stone skin. "The Oracle said…if the caster loved me, she'd have all the power she needed." 

__

The power of love. "Ah," Lina said knowingly, and was astonished to hear Gourry saying the exact same syllable in the same tone of voice. She looked at him with wide eyes, and he smiled at her. She smiled back, thinking, _I shouldn't be surprised that he understands. He's always been smarter than me in matters of the heart. …He knew enough to fall in love with _me, _right? _

A smug look crossed her face as she turned back Zelgadis, who looked like he wanted to sink through the floor. "Well, then, I don't think we have anything to worry about. Amelia loves you, and--"

"No!" The stone man's comrades jumped at his vehement outburst. "I would rather stay a chimera for the rest of my life than take the chance of losing her!"

"But…if you don't attempt the spell you're going to lose her in another way!" 

"I don't care." Zelgadis was breathing raggedly. "I--I love her too much to risk it."

Amelia finally spoke up. "But I don't want to lose you!"

For a moment he closed his eyes, strengthening his resolve, and then turned to look into her deep, sapphire-blue eyes, eyes that had tears glittering in the corners. "Then you understand. That's just how I feel… If my selfish desire for a cure caused me to lose you…"

"It's not selfish if you're doing it to make both of you happy!" Lina shouted at them, feeling the control of the conversation slipping from her grasp. 

Gourry looked back and forth between each of his friends, wanting to help but not knowing what to say. 

Neither of them seemed to have heard Lina's outburst. Zelgadis continued, "It's not just risky, it's double or nothing…and I've learned my lesson the hard way. Sometimes you don't understand what you have…until you lose it."

Lina realized, _He's talking about his lost humanity._

"If I'm willing to sacrifice my cure--" He stopped as Lina interrupted desperately, a knot of sick fear in her stomach as she realized that even though she had sprung this trap on him, he was winning the battle by convincing Amelia to give up. 

"If you stay a chimera, Amelia will have to marry some other guy, and _then_ what? Will you ask her to cheat on him? Or will you just disappear again?" Her tone was venomous. 

The stone man winced at her accusation, but was silent. _Forgive me, Amelia, _he thought, his regret like a knife slicing his heart apart, _this is the only way I know to keep you safe._

Again, Lina shot forth an accusation. "This is all about what _you_ want, isn't it? What about _Amelia? _Does it matter what _she_ wants?"

Again, he did not answer. 

"After everything she's done for you--everything she's _already _sacrificed for you? ……Well, answer me! _Say_ something!" 

The chimera merely stared at her, his face expressionless. _That does it!_ As with the Oracle's guardian/doorman, Lina Inverse needed people to respond to her. Something inside her snapped as the chimera's stubborn silence triggered her famous wrath. 

The red-haired sorceress struck out at Zelgadis in a blind fury, slamming her fist into his cheek with a loud crack. His head rocked back from the force of her blow as pain flared across her knuckles. "Ow!" she yelled, her rage increasing even as she was reminded of the chimera's invulnerability. The ship hadn't even quivered. 

He had done nothing to avoid her blow, indeed, the resigned look on his face said he'd been expecting it--and felt he deserved it. Lina blinked as she caught sight of the smear of red on his cheek. _I wounded him? _Then she glanced at her gloveless hand and grimaced at the torn skin oozing blood over her knuckles. "Argh! Damn it, you selfish, arrogant, egotistical _bastard--"_

"Miss Lina, stop!" The raven-haired princess had scrambled in front of him, her arms held out to the sides. "Don't you dare hurt Zelgadis! Can't you see he's trying to do the right thing, no matter how much it hurts him?" She was crying, the tears streaming down her cheeks in shining lines.

Lina was surprised at her unexpected defense, but Zelgadis was absolutely incredulous. "Amelia--how can you defend me? You should be angry…"

Amelia lowered her arms. "I am…" Her voice was husky with emotion. "I'm really upset about this…but…well, Miss Lina is angry enough for both of us… And besides, I understand how you feel." She placed a hand over her heart. "If I were in your position I'd want to do everything I could to protect you…"

He murmured, "Amelia…" 

As Lina watched, Zelgadis' face changed from his trademark somber expression to one that could only be described as loving. 

She shook her head, bemused. _Only she could get him to respond like that. _

The tender looks on both of their faces as they gazed at one another made her forget her anger and focus on her original goal--of getting the two of them together. "Amelia, what are you saying? After everything you've gone through for him--don't you want him?" 

She nodded, her face unhappy but resolute. "More than anything. But it has to be his choice too, don't you see? Making him feel obligated…trapped…that isn't proving my love for him. Besides, I already came too close to losing his trust once…"

Lina gave her an incredulous look. "So you're just…giving up?" 

Amelia, painfully aware of Zelgadis' eyes on her, gathered together her last shreds of spirit and forced herself to smile. "Of course not. There's always hope. We might meet up with a really powerful white magic mage…"

One who loves Zel? I doubt it. Lina could see how much this show of cheer was costing her friend, and for once she held her tongue. 

"And I invited Filia to my wed--my ceremony." Amelia's smile was a little stronger. "She's a Golden Dragon--the strongest holy magic user we know, and she's friends with Zelgadis, isn't she?"

"Hey, you're right." Lina exchanged a look with Zelgadis, whose eyes had lit up with hope. It made him look years younger--more like a teenager than a travel-weary warrior. _I'd forgotten how cute he could be…_

"Filia's coming?" Zelgadis couldn't believe the good news. A small smile of delight lifted the corners of his lips. "She was my best hope, but I couldn't think of any way to reach her in time. Her Mace 'n' Vase shop is across the continent…"

Amelia beamed at him. "Yes, I invited her. I didn't get a response, but then I haven't exactly been home to receive any mail for a while…but surely she wouldn't miss my wedding!" _Oops--I said the 'w' word, _she thought sheepishly._ But I don't think he minds. _

"Does Filia love Zelgadis?" Gourry asked suddenly.

All eyes turned to him. He winced at the accusing stares. "Well, you said the white magic person had to be in love with--"

"Gourry!" Lina growled. "We're trying to find some hope here; do ya mind?"

"Sorry."

"I doubt Filia's in love with me," Zelgadis smiled wryly. "But I do consider her a friend, or at least an ally. She'll probably be willing to help."

"Of _course_ she will!" Amelia's spunk was back. "It would only be _just_ to aid a pair of star-crossed lovers like us!"

Both Zelgadis and Lina developed sweatdrops as they looked at the princess, who had leaped to her feet and thrust one finger into the air. One could almost imagine a little smiley face on the tip of her index finger. 

Lina cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Uh, well…we'd better focus on _getting_ there first. There's no way of knowing how long it'll take to actually do this spell, if we have to spend time putting it together first." 

"Right." Zelgadis nodded, and concentrated. The ship resumed its flight, gliding smoothly over the shining lake below them. 

******************************************************************************

****

Author's Note: Ooo! High drama. The interrogator and her victim--er, subject! Sorry about the rapid shifts between Lina's point of view and Zelgadis', but since half the battle was internal, I needed some way to show both sides.

Finally--**Zelgadis has confessed his love!** Half the battle is over--but if you think things are going to go smoothly from then on--watch out! Life doesn't work that way… 

Off on a tangent here, but you know the end of Try where they show Filia's shop, with the sign out front that has no words--I remember staring at it for a long time, trying to figure out the name of the place…I got a giggle out of it when I realized it rhymed. Mace 'n' Vase! Tee hee! 

****

Shahrezad1--Thanks for the cultural bit in your last review. I always like learning stuff about something I'm interested in. A cool demeanor, eh? And yet I read that the Japanese call us Americans 'dry' meaning we make our decisions based on logic (for example, profit) while they regard themselves as 'wet' --basing their decisions on emotions and what will affect other people. I don't know how true this is--especially now, what with Western influence on them, but I suppose you can be 'wet' and still keep up a calm, cool demeanor, ne?

****

Knid comments-- 'I think I see where you're going. The jewel somehow compels the user to tell the truth and makes them vulnerable. As soon as Lina figures it all out she's going to ambush Zel when he's wearing it and ask about his cure.'  
*Ooo! Clever Knid!Bravo! Cheerio! Spot-on! (Gee, after I read your name I start to think in British English instead of American… I watch a couple of shows from there, BTW. My favorite is Red Dwarf. I pick up a lot of the slang.) Was my plot _that _obvious? Oh, dear. Perhaps I ought to try thinking in more convoluted terms… And thanks for the correction about the word 'slain'. I _knew_ it was wrong but I simply could _not _remember the past tense of the verb! 

And what really stinks is I'm going to have to leave it like that, because FF.net is the most…_difficult_ site to add and remove things from--sometimes I have to keep trying for days before all the steps I need to take actually work. Last time I clicked on 'browse' to pull my story from my PC and it didn't do anything, so I ended up waiting for like two days until it was working again. It never works on the first try, that's for sure. Or the second…or the fourth, sometimes…*sigh*

Anybody out there have a web site that can handle what's likely to be an 85-plus chapter fanfic? And fanpics? I'm writing chapter 74 right now, the last chapter of the 'Woodwind' arc, and I know I'm going to need at least another ten chapters to finish…


	68. Chapter 68: Aftermath , , Human Cont...

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Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

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PG-13 for mild language and lime-i-ness

Note: A geis (pronounced gaysh) is basically a magical compulsion.

****

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Aftermath // Human Contact 

The atmosphere among the group had changed somewhat. Lina and Gourry had been betrothed for several weeks, but Lina had chosen to keep this a secret until just recently. Now that Zelgadis had unexpectedly declared his love for Amelia (who had made _her_ feelings known well before now), there were _two_ such 'acknowledged couples' aboard the ship. In some ways, this was easier for them all, to have no more secrets to hide, and in some ways it was harder, especially for those who yearned to explore their newly physical desires. 

Gourry was the most sanguine. He was happy that everyone was getting along better, that no one seemed inclined to tease Lina about wanting to be with him, as she had feared, and he was looking forward to the time when Lina lost her uncharacteristic diffidence. _I just have to be patient a little longer. Already she's more relaxed around the others…today during lunch she sat next to me and her leg was touching mine the whole time. Zel and Amelia look happier, too. I sure hope everything works out. _

~~~

Amelia vacillated between blissful happiness that her beloved had at last confessed his own love to her, and secret dread that she was soon to lose that happiness. Most of the time she was able to suppress it, focusing instead on Zelgadis' miraculous confession. _Whatever possessed him to blurt it out like that in front of everyone? _she thought in wonder as she sat alone in the small darkened supply area, brushing her increasingly unruly hair. _Maybe it finally occurred to him that this is the final portion of our journey--that when we land at Seyrune, it'll all be over. It's so hard, sometimes, to act happy in front of the others when I think of that… _

But I can't _give in to despair! I _have_ to believe that everything is going to work out all right… Miss Filia will help us, I'm sure of it…and…if by some tiny remote chance she can't, then Zelgadis will just have to accept my help. If I've learned anything about him over the last month, it's that Zelgadis needs a lot of time to change his mind once he decides on something important. If you push him, he gets more and more stubborn, but if you leave him alone, he won't feel so pressured, and then…_

Thank goodness Miss Lina didn't give up! He'd almost convinced me that it was useless to hope… Amelia set her jaw forward, scowling as well as her pretty face allowed her to. _I'm really angry about that--that he let me believe that his cure was hopeless! It makes me want to punish him--but after what Miss Lina did, anything I might do would look…small and petty, I guess…oh, she always steals the spotlight. _

She crossed her arms in annoyance, and stuck out her lower lip to blow the hair from her eyes. _I need to get my hair trimmed…but I don't want to trust one of them to do it--not now, with my wedding coming up! Hmm…I wonder if it's long enough to tie it back for now? _A feeling of relief lightened her mood as the young princess turned her mind to the minor problem of what to do with her hair, glad to be able to think about something less emotional. 

~~~ 

While Lina still thought that Zelgadis should have told them about the specific conditions his curse required as soon as he'd emerged from the Oracle's cavern, she had to give him credit for thinking of Amelia first, and she respected his wish to protect the very girl he most wanted to be human for. _Still, he said the Oracle only said there's 'a chance' that Amelia might be overwhelmed. I can't believe that the girl who helped us defeat two Dark Lords and casts occasional black magic--competently--is in the same category with your average white magic priestess. He's blowing the whole thing way out of proportion. _

She sighed, staring at the window in front of her, watching the scenery crawl by. _I still think he's a fool for not following the Oracle's instructions, but talking to him is like talking to a brick wall, pun intended. _She growled deep in her throat._ I'd love to kick his ass--if Amelia would let me. I've done it before--and he _felt _it, believe me! _

…But then again, to a guy like him, pain is nothing. I could Dragon Slave him and he wouldn't budge. Lina sighed._ If using Filia works, good. If not, then Amelia's going to _have _to cast that spell--or all of this has been for nothing. Maybe I should be focusing on _Amelia, _not Zel, trying to convince her to cast the spell no matter what he says. _

She remembered the princess' words about almost losing the chimera's trust, and shook her head. _That's Zel, all right. In the past he may have switched sides, but he's definitely got the kind of honor that would never let him forgive someone whom he felt had betrayed him. Especially someone he'd opened his heart to. I need to think of something that'll make him see the light…_

Maybe Gourry has some ideas. The diminutive sorceress shook her head. _I can't believe I'm even thinking of asking Jellyfish Brains for advice, but so far he's been pretty accurate about a lot of things. I've gotta give him credit--what he may lack in wits, he makes up for in intuition. _

She smiled as she thought about her friend--no, her fiance. _It's kind of fun to flirt…today during lunch I kept thinking of how hard the floor boards are, and how much I'd rather sit in Gourry's lap… I kept moving closer to him until our legs were touching, and I almost laughed when I realized that both Zel and Amelia were trying not to look! I bet they were thinking that they'd like to sit the same way. _

She chuckled, watching two bright blue birds chase each other merrily above the treetops. _I shouldn't embarrass them, but it feels so good to be able to show how I feel about Gourry--at least in front of our two closest friends. Free--like those birds. I hope Zel and Amelia get to do the same…in private, of course--being royalty, they'd have to act all 'proper' in public--_an image of Prince Phil crossed her mind and she smirked_--well, maybe not all that proper…_

The redhead sighed, her ruby eyes gazing off into the distance. _It's too bad we're all in the habit of sleeping together around the campfire. I may like to flirt, but I don't want an audience when I kiss Gourry…among other things. I want him to touch me… _

"Would you like a snack, Miss Lina?" 

Startled, the young sorceress jumped and looked up at Amelia. The raven-haired princess was smiling and holding out an apple, which Lina took automatically, blushing as she remembered the direction her thoughts had been heading in. "Uh, thanks, Amelia." 

"No problem," Amelia smiled. "I know you get bored with flying, so I thought I'd give you some company." 

The younger girl settled herself next to Lina, who tried not to show her annoyance at having her fantasy interrupted. _She means well, _she told herself. She looked around, but both men were in the back somewhere, giving the girls a modicum of privacy for once. 

To all appearances Amelia seemed to have returned to her normal cheery self, both because of the long-overdue confession of love from Zelgadis, and because the problem standing between herself and her prospective suitor had finally been addressed and possible solutions worked out.

Lina had her suspicions, though. _I'm sure she feels better, but no one could really be that oblivious. She's probably just putting on a brave face. _"So, Amelia…how are you doing?" she asked tentatively, munching on the sweet fruit.

"Oh, I'm all right." The younger girl gave her a small smile.

Lina raised a fine orange eyebrow. "Oh, really? Come on, Amelia, this is _me_ you're talking to. Your best friend? I _know_ you can't be as happy as you're pretending."

Amelia's eyes darkened, and she threw a glance over her shoulder as if to make sure that there were no observers, then let her shoulders sag. "No, I'm not," she admitted in a low voice, "but what good would it do if I acted unhappy? We can't do anything about--" she lowered her voice still further, making Lina strain to hear it-- "his cure until we get to Seyrune, and I don't want to spend what might be my last days together with Zelgadis quarreling or being miserable. Besides, he'll only dig in his heels if we try to force him to change his mind."

Sapphire eyes met ruby ones, and Lina nodded in understanding. "You've got a point, there. Zel's a stubborn one." She gave the curtain a quick glance, then muttered, "So you're still thinking about casting the spell yourself, then?"

Amelia nodded nervously, and smiled a little.

__

Well, that's a relief. I thought she'd given up. Lina frowned. _I wish I could get a hold of Xellos. I tried calling him yesterday afternoon off and on, but the jerk wouldn't respond. I suppose he's afraid of getting into trouble with his precious boss. He'd better meet us in Seyrune like he said he would--or else! _

She studied the young princess, who was watching her curiously. 

I still can't believe Amelia's acting so calm about all this. If it were me, I'd be ready to blow something up--I still_ feel that way, when I think of how that stupid chimera nearly got away with his 'noble' sacrifice. Noble--yeah, right. I understand that he didn't want her to be hurt, but still…he could _at least _have told _me! Then she blinked, her mood lightening as she realized that one of the reasons she was miffed at the stone man was because he'd kept her in the dark. 

She gave the puzzled princess a wry grin. _Tactically, I know perfectly well that not telling _anybody_ was the best way to make sure his plan to keep Amelia safe worked, so I shouldn't be so insulted. Besides, in the end, I still beat him. He really should've known better than to try to defy Lina Inverse! _

"Men can be so frustrating," she said to her friend, a note of humor in her tone. "But still, I suppose I've got to give the guy some credit--he did a good job keeping his mouth shut, no matter what I did to get him to talk…It's like that guard, what's his name, Lann said back at Ponmar's place--'Ya gotta respect people who don't talk under interrogation. If they're guilty, they're trying to protect their friends and their cause. If they're innocent, they're strong enough to stick to their story and not make up false confessions ta save themselves.'"

The diminutive sorceress winked encouragingly at her friend. "He's guilty, all right--guilty of trying to protect the girl he loves." Lina smiled at the way Amelia's eyes grew soft and shimmery at the thought. "And at least Zelgadis never actually lied. Sort of like Xellos…he made us think something was true, but he never once said that the Oracle _hadn't_ given him a cure. He just said something like 'a cure he couldn't use'--without risking your life, of course." 

Amelia's face was full of adoration. "I'm so glad he finally decided to tell me he loves me. Even if we have to part, I'll carry that in my heart forever!" She placed both of her hands dramatically over her heart.

"Uh, yeah." Lina smiled awkwardly, a sweatdrop appearing over her temple, barely managing to keep from rolling her eyes at the younger girl's melodrama. She fought off the sudden urge to take the credit for Zelgadis' declaration of love, not wanting to let Amelia know that it hadn't been his decision at all. _Besides, I'm hoping that he won't realize it wasn't him, either. I thought he would have figured out by now that it was the gem Xellos gave us that brings hidden emotions to the surface, and makes you tell the truth if someone asks you a question, but so far he hasn't said a word to me about it. He's doing his shifts as pilot readily enough, putting on the gem without even the tiniest bit of hesitation--I've been watching him. _

Can it be that he really doesn't_ know it was the gem? Was he _that _close to confessing to her, all on his own? Or…maybe the gem _isn't_ magic… _NowLina quailed, wondering if her recent breakdown was all her own doing, but then she remembered the 'tests' she had performed to see if she could catch anyone in a lie while they were wearing the gem. _Nope, it was the gem. It _had_ to be. Actually, if Zel suspects anything, all he'd have to do to find out would be to ask me while I'm piloting--I'd have answer truthfully. And he hasn't. Which means he either _doesn't _suspect--_or_ he doesn't want to ask and make sure he's right. Maybe he _wants _to think he confessed of his own free will. _

She shrugged. _Who am I to get in the way of someone's romance? _I'm_ sure not gonna say anything about the gem if he doesn't know--he'd be furious! _

~~~

Like the others, Zelgadis had learned that the best times for uninterrupted thinking were when he was doing his stint as pilot._ There is something to be said for confessions. Now that things are out in the open, some of the tension is gone. _

The corners of his mouth twitched as he imaginedthe stares his friends would get if they acted so love-besotted in public. _Lina was practically in Gourry's lap--and from his expression, I'm sure he would have been glad to have her there. It was embarrassing to watch…but it does make me wonder what it would feel like if Amelia…_

He shook his head sternly. _Even though I wouldn't mind having her close to me,_ _I doubt _she_ would enjoy it. It would feel as if she were sitting amidst a pile of rocks! _

He stared out the window at the afternoon sky, absently admiring billowy clouds of pink, apricot, pale green, and lavender. After a few moments his mind began to drift again._ Of course, I could smell her hair… _

This time the chimera began to daydream without realizing it, but just then Amelia emerged from the back area. He always knew when she approached, having long since learned to identify each member of the party by their footsteps on the floorboards. He felt awkward now when they were alone together after making such a scene earlier--whatever had possessed him?--but as Lina and Gourry had developed the disconcerting habit of disappearing out back together, he and Amelia had had to get used to each other's company all over again. Neither of them wanted to accidentally walk in on their companions while they were---otherwise occupied. 

"Zelgadis?" 

He turned to face her as she asked hesitantly, "How do I look?" 

He blinked. She had found a pretty white ribbon somewhere to tie part of her hair into a little ponytail on the top of her head. Most of her bangs had gone into it, except for a few stray strands decorating her forehead. The small sheaf of midnight hair curved cutely to her left, making her look even more childish--and adorable--than she already had.

She put up a tentative hand to touch it. "Is it all right? It was getting a little long, but I didn't want to cut it yet…" she trailed off, then volunteered, "I used to wear my hair like this when I was younger."

She looked at him expectantly, and he realized that his mouth was open. Belatedly he smiled and said the first thing to pop into his head. "It's…very cute."

He watched as a pleased blush spread over her face. She put both hands to her cheeks, an endearing gesture that he found incredibly appealing. 

After a moment she asked, "Is it too babyish?" 

He shook his head instantly. "No. It's…" He tried to think of a word that didn't sound as if he was describing a child. "It's very attractive."

Again she looked pleased, even when he continued, "And even if it did, so what? I thought we agreed that you were to behave in whatever way is most natural to you. That includes how you wear your hair. I…" 

He had to pause for a moment to remind himself that it was all right to speak this way--he _had_ declared his devotion to her, hadn't he? Zelgadis took a deep breath, his heart's cadence picking up speed as he declared, "I-I prefer the genuine, vivacious Amelia to the falsely mature one. _She_ is…the one who is dear to my heart."

He'd said the right thing, judging by the way her face lit up.

"Oh, Zelgadis…" She dropped gracefully down to sit on her calves near him, and he smiled a little to see her ponytail bob with her movements. He spared a few seconds to glance out of the window to be sure that they weren't about to run into anything--not a big concern, since he generally flew the ship well above even the tallest trees--and then turned to face her. 

She had leaned forward with her hands clasped together under her chin, her big eyes shimmering adoringly. "You can be so sweet." 

Not as sweet as you. Zelgadis experienced an impulse that had become familiar over the last few weeks: the desire to be closer to her. He had been encased in that hard stone shell for far too long. He yearned for contact, wanting so badly to be able to touch another human being, even if his sense of touch was dulled, to feel Amelia's body against his, breathing, moving, alive. 

As he gazed at the young girl before him, looking into her beautiful, loving eyes, he knew that she would welcome his overtures…

Hesitantly Zelgadis reached out a blue hand toward her face, watching as her eyes closed and she tilted her head as if inviting his touch, which both pleased and encouraged him. His blue fingertips lightly grazed her cheek--

"Why can't _you_ ever say romantic stuff like that to me, Gourry? Every girl loves compliments."

Lina's voice came from behind the curtain, causing Zelgadis to jump and yank his hand away. He and Amelia looked guiltily at each other, wearing matching pink blushes. 

Gourry's voice was clearly audible as well. "I thought I wasn't supposed to talk about romance."

Zelgadis could almost hear Lina rolling her eyes. "It's okay _now_, jellyfish. All secrets are out. We don't have to hide it any more."

"Hey, really? So I can kiss you whenever I want?"

There was a brief pause, during which Zelgadis imagined Lina blushing up a storm, but her answer was surprisingly non-violent, for her. "No, dummy. Kissing you do in private--usually. And other stuff. And--well, for now, let's just stick with saying romantic stuff."

"Okay, Lina."

Zelgadis turned to Amelia, who suddenly gave him a sly smile. "No, Zelgadis," she said loudly, "I'm sure our friends wouldn't spy on us. If they did, they know I'd have to give them a good talking-to about that kind of unjust behavior!" 

There was silence. Amelia looked at Zelgadis, who repressed a chuckle as he listened to their companions' retreating footsteps. He was just able to make out the squeak of Sunshine's gate opening and closing through the usual rushing-wind background noise. 

Amelia smiled wryly at him. "That's Miss Lina's way of chaperoning us, I think. But she's not really so serious about it anymore, not now that…" She trailed off, her smile widening happily as she gazed up at him.

Now that we've declared our feelings for each other. Zelgadis finished her sentence mentally, looking out through the window as if to make sure that they hadn't drifted off course, but mostly because he was still embarrassed about the scene he'd made. _I still don't know why it suddenly seemed so vital that Amelia should know how I feel about her…but I can't say I'm sorry. _

He turned back to face her, nodding and smiling gently in a tacit reply to her unspoken comment, so it puzzled him a little when her face grew pensive. "Would you mind if I tell you how much I love you?" she asked, her voice sounding a little plaintive. 

Oh. After all this time, with me refusing to acknowledge her feelings… Slowly his own expression grew solemn. "…I _should_ mind," he answered seriously. "I shouldn't encourage you…yet…but the truth is…" He looked deeply into her sapphire eyes, wanting her to have no further doubts about his feelings for her. "I welcome it. No one has told me that they loved me for a very, very long time." 

He noticed the tears of sympathy in the corners of her eyes as she said almost fiercely, "Well, I _do _love you. I love you more than anyone I've ever loved in my whole life!" 

He couldn't resist raising a stony eyebrow and asking with a teasing smile, "Even your father?" 

The young princess looked charmingly disconcerted, lifting a curved hand up in front of her chin. "That's different." 

The stone man gave a rare chuckle. "I know. But…if you love me even half as much as you love your father, I'm a lucky man." 

"Oh, Zelgadis." She rose on her knees and moved a little closer to him, relaxing back to the floor right next to him, their legs almost touching. She reached for his hand, lifting it from his lap, her hand on the back of his. "I love you _both _very dearly, just in different ways." 

He looked from their hands to her face, feeling his gaze soften as he looked into her blue, blue eyes. "Amelia," he murmured, wanting again to be able to show her how very much he loved her. 

The ship began to tilt ever so slightly. He ignored it, hardly able to believe that the utter adoration shimmering in her eyes was for him alone. 

Suddenly she lifted his hand to her face, turning it so that she could press her lips into his gloved palm. He pulled in a breath, his heart lurching in his chest at the sight of her rich blue eyes watching him solemnly above the edge of the pearl-gray glove--the very glove that _she _had chosen just for him. 

The ship trembled as if in reaction to his emotions. Absently, he let a small portion of his mind guide it, steadying its flight, but most of his attention was focused on Amelia. 

Physically he felt only the lightest of pressures where her hand held his, but emotionally it was as if she had sent a tremendous surge of warmth directly into his heart, melting away the last of the icy blocks from the wall he had so carefully constructed around it so many years ago. _Caution be damned--to turn her away now would be cruelty on a par with the most vicious acts I've ever committed. She wants me--and I want her. Whether or not this cure succeeds, I'll no longer deny her the love she's waited so patiently for, suffering in silence, always supporting me with smiles and not a word of complaint. She's earned that much at least. _

She had been watching him tentatively, waiting for his reaction, still holding his hand near her face with her own hand looking so small and delicate compared to his. Zelgadis smiled at her reassuringly, turning his hand in hers so that he could clasp it gently, and breathed, "Amelia…" He hesitated, considering different expressions of affection he'd heard over the years, and chose one. "….Dearest." 

Amelia had been watching the stone man a bit apprehensively, wondering if she'd been too forward, but she couldn't help letting her jaw drop a little in astonishment as he not only said her name in the most tender voice she had ever heard from him, he also spoke to her the way a lover would! 

Her breath caught as her heart began to race, her limbs and voice trembling with emotion. "Darling…" she whispered, gazing up at him adoringly. 

The look on his face was so peaceful, so open, with a small smile and beautiful blue-green eyes that gazed at her with such affection--and yes--desire, too. _Oh, Zelgadis, how I've wanted you to look at me like this! For so long now…I can't believe it's finally happening. It _is_ real, isn't it? I'm not just dreaming again? Please don't let it be a dream…_

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Author's Note: Only Amelia could get away with calling Zelgadis 'darling'!** ^__^**

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Slayers Otaku-Girl--Yes, judging by the picture at the end of Try I would guess that her shop is called the 'Mace 'n' Vase. ^__^  


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UnholyDragoon says--'or he (Zel) might have relished the chance to finally come clean about what is going on.' 

* You're right… He really wanted to tell her a long time ago. 

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jadz_i_ka brings up a good point--'One thing that bothers me: Zel had to answer every question he was told, so why didn't we hear any answers to two questions?'

*You mean the ones where Lina kept accusing him and he refused to say anything? Well, yes, he ought to have been forced to say something, but his silence _was_ his answer--to some of the questions, anyway, partly to keep Amelia safe, and partly because several of Lina's questions like 'Will you ask Amelia to cheat on her new husband?' are questions he never though of up to now, and he's silent 'cause he's trying to decide how he feels about them. He honestly didn't _know_ the answers yet to some of them.

Plus, Zelgadis is pretty good at keeping his mouth shut. The deciding factor for why he gave in and confessed his love for Amelia is because deep inside he _desperately_ wanted to… 

About Fanfic.net: Does anyone else ever have any trouble with the upload page? From my very first chapter I've had the same problem--basically, when I get to the page that shows every chapter I've got so far and I scroll down, about half of the numbers on the left that should be highlighted in yellow are missing, and when I scroll down to where it says: Click here to choose a chapter to download--that part is completely blank--no words, no highlight, nothing! Sometimes I click anyway, and I get an error message saying 'pick one of the chapters you downloaded' but I can't, 'cause there's nothing to pick, even though I just used 'browse' and did a 'preview' to make sure it arrived okay--it always uploads into the buffer okay. I always have to reload or back-and-click several times before the 'choose a chapter' bar actually has anything in it. Sometimes I have to log off, leaving the chapter in the buffer until the next day, and then try again. I know I'm not the only one this happens to, 'cause I've read about similar problems in others' Author's Notes, but has anyone ever figured out why, or gotten a solution?   
  
**Knid** and **PsycoCatGirl ** --Thanks to both of you for suggestions on websites--but I don't want to take time away from writing to learn how to maintain a webpage--at least not till I'm done Only Stone. As it is I'm falling behind…

  
**Sylver-Ajah **asks -'why not do a weekly update?'

*I do. Or I try. It generally depends on how cranky FF.net is being. I have Thursdays off, and usually do my 1-2-hour final review/editing session then, although to be honest, in the last few weeks I've just made a few new friends who actually LIKE ANIME. In my 30 years of life I've never had more than one friend at a time,so I confess I have spent the last few days-off having Anime Night at their house. Naughty me.

Actually, the way things are going now it's taking me about three weeks to write one chapter, so right now I'm starting to feel the pressure of now being able to finish my fic before all my pre-written chapters run out. *Feels all the muscles in her back and shoulders tense up as she sits at the keyboard* I hate the idea of not have anything for you all at that point. I like to keep my commitments, and 'one chapter a week' was what I promised you all. You guys keep your end of the deal by doing reviews, ne? And I'm proud to be able to tell people how many reviews I have! ^__^ 


	69. Chapter 69: Romansu

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Only Stone on the Outside

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a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

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PG-13 for much lime-i-ness 

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Romansu

Amelia was enthralled. The look on Zelgadis' face was so peaceful, so open, with a small smile and beautiful blue-green eyes that gazed at her with such affection--and yes--desire, too. _Oh, how I've wanted you to look at me like this! For so long now…I can't believe it's finally happening. It _is_ real, isn't it? I'm not just dreaming again? _Please_ don't let it be a dream…_

The chimera turned slightly, lifting his free hand up toward her face. Amelia watched the slender, long-fingered hand as it moved, not closing her eyes this time until his fingertips touched her face. _It's not a dream._ She breathed out a slightly shaky sigh, and moved her face against his fingers, tilting her head as Shiran did to guide the caresses of uncertain hands. 

Zelgadis' fingers were firm, certainly, but smooth and warm and very agile, easily adjusting to the curves of her skin. She could feel the minute hairs on her cheeks lifting slightly, just barely catching in the infinitesimal fingerprint grooves on the tips of his fingers, causing a delicious tingly sensation to appear wherever he touched her. She made a small, contented noise, squeezing the hand she held, smiling a little to let him know he wasn't hurting her. 

It was apparently enough to encourage him. She felt his hand glide down the side of her face, his fingers getting tangled in her hair, then move away from her face to run his fingers into her hair, stroking it away from the side of her face. He paused, then did it again, combing his fingers through the silky raven-black tresses, sending another delightful tingle all through her body. She shivered, her smile widening, and opened her eyes a little to see him looking down at her with a tender little smile of his own. 

"I like that," she said softly, wishing she could return the favor. But his own hair was insensitive, a profuse fluff of fine silver-blue wire that rarely needed tending. "Do it again…please?"

He complied. Amelia tried to sit still, but couldn't quite contain her shivers of pleasure as his gentle fingers slid smoothly through her hair, lightly stroking the skin underneath. He hesitated as he reached her topknot, and she opened her eyes to meet his questioning gaze.

She nodded. "You can undo it." A moment later she turned pink as she realized how that remark might have sounded to someone who didn't know she was talking about a hair ribbon! 

Quickly she closed her eyes again, partly out of embarrassment, and partly because she was discovering that it was somehow more enjoyable to anticipate his touch, rather than watch him. 

He let go of her hand to use both of his to untie the white ribbon that she had managed to salvage from her poor, bedraggled pink ball gown. As Zelgadis began to glide his fingers through her hair once again, she suddenly giggled, imagining him wearing that gown again, only this time he had his hair in two thick, spiky-looking ponytails as well! 

"What is it?" Zelgadis asked.

Amelia opened her mouth to answer, but stopped, not wanting to hurt his male pride. "It's just…I'm so happy. I've been dreaming about this sort of thing for so long, with you…touching…and…being close, and you not minding it or pulling away or anything. I wish I could do something for you."

His hands stopped moving for a moment, then resumed. "Well…I'm just glad you can tolerate my touch. At least one of us can feel pleasure."

She opened her eyes to see a look of resignation darkening his teal ones. With a pang of empathy, she reached up and took both of his hands in hers. "It won't be for much longer, Zelgadis… I promise you. Filia will help us…and even if she can't, remember, the Oracle said if I loved you I'd have all the power I needed--so don't you worry." 

She was absolutely determined that he _would_ be human again. _If it's the last thing I ever do. Not that it will be--I plan on having a long, happy, fruitful life with you… _

Amelia was dismayed to see that his usual solemn, melancholy expression had returned. _He's going to say he doesn't want me in danger. _In her anxiety, she became a little more open than usual about certain sensitive topics, hoping to break him out of his darkening mood. "Besides…I'm--I'm looking forward to the time when both of us can feel pleasure…together." 

His eyes widened, and she felt her face grow hot, but forced herself to meet his gaze, trying to convince him of her sincerity. Slowly his expression warmed, and he relaxed, a smiled gracing his lips. "Amelia…dearest…what would I do without you?" His tone was the warm, rich, affectionate one that she loved so much, the one that he used so rarely. 

The chimera stared down at the small girl, whose tousled bangs were falling over her eyes. _If I had never met you… what would my life be like now? How many girls could ever fall in love with a chimera? _

She was still looking bravely up at him despite the vivid blush on her cheeks. Slowly he pulled one hand free from her grasp, reaching up to tenderly touch her face. "You are…so special to me, Amelia," he said softly. "The perfect girl…the only one who could see past my appearance--and overlook my faults--and still come to love me. You're…extraordinary…and I love you more than life itself." 

He realized that he had called her a girl, not a woman, but she didn't seem to mind, judging from the loving glow that shone in her eyes as she whispered, "Oh, Zelgadis… I've been waiting for you to say that for so long…" 

He swallowed, her nearness reminding him of their recent trip to the inn where they had seen each other in the nude. He lowered his hand from where it was touching her cheek, and her free hand automatically reached out to take hold of his again. With his heart beginning to pound vehemently in his stone chest, he confessed, "I've wanted to say it…more than anything. You have no idea how hard it's been, trying to deny my feelings for you--to pretend, even to myself, that you were simply an old and dear friend. I've…been in love with you since the first day I saw you back at the palace."

To his astonishment, she nodded. "I know. We--Miss Lina and I--were hoping I would catch your attention. I even took her advice and bought a new dress that we thought might make me look more mature."

"You did?" He couldn't keep the surprise from his voice. 

"Does it bother you?" Her little face was suddenly anxious. "That Miss Lina and I planned your courtship?"

"No," he answered automatically, then added, "Well…perhaps a little. It seems more like something a man would do."

Amelia surprised him with a laugh. "Then you don't know much about girls! Some of my friends practice all the time. Everything--how to laugh, how to smile, how to move in ways that will interest a man…" She trailed off, yet another cute pink blush appearing over her nose. 

It does wonders for the self-esteem when someone is bound and determined to win your affections, and Zelgadis was no exception. He smiled slowly, pleased. "Did you do that?"

"Not really…well, maybe just a little, to encourage you. I wanted you to know I wouldn't turn you away if you…" Again she let her words dwindle, glancing away for just a moment, but then she squared her shoulders and turned back to look up into his face. Her eyes astonished him with their fierce intensity as her hands tightened on his, hard enough so that he could feel the strength of her grip. "And I wanted you to know that I'd chosen you. Both as a--as a husband," her face went from pink to red, and he suspected that his was doing something similar, "and as Seyrune's next ruler."

He was silent for a long time, thinking about her words. Finally he said, "I'm flattered…honored, really…but why me? I haven't exactly been the friendliest of companions all these years…and how do you know what kind of ruler I'd make? I never speak of my past; how do you know I can handle the responsibilities? You aren't just an ordinary peasant girl--you ought to have chosen a prince." 

Her hands gripped his even tighter, making him worry that she was hurting herself in her fervor, but then she eased her grasp and smiled easily. "What is a prince? Someone who is supposed to be strong and brave, smart, loyal, an excellent warrior and an ally of justice! A prince comes to his friends' aid when they need him to help save the world. A _prince_…is a wonderful, caring man, no matter _how_ much he tries to hide it!" 

"……You forgot handsome," he managed to say in a tone that held some of his customary irony, although inwardly he was stunned by her praise. _Is that really how she sees me?_

"No, you're not handsome." 

He blinked in astonishment, but before he could develop hurt feelings at her honesty she continued in a deeper, wholeheartedly affectionate tone, "You're beautiful." 

The look on her face was so loving, so fond…and his sensitive ears caught a definite amorous undertone that made him simultaneously relieved, encouraged and a little uncomfortable at her boldness. _Of course, after that stay at the inn, I've got no secrets from her…_

Apparently her thoughts were running along the same lines. He watched as she let her gaze drift from his face to travel down his body, her eyes lingering in the obvious place for several moments before her gaze snapped back to his face. 

"Sorry…" she murmured, wide-eyed. "Anyway…I think we'll make a good team. Our skills support each other, and our personalities complement each other. And…" She couldn't seem to help glancing down at his lap again, past their clasped hands, and when she looked up into his face again as if looking for approval he discovered that he was pleased at her attraction to him, chimeric body or not. 

Suddenly he felt a lot better. The stone man gave in to the impulse to smile jauntily at her, and tilted his head a little, his eyes half-closed, making a show of examining his companion's body. 

Amelia blushed, but didn't look too uncomfortable, even managing to return his grin with one of her own. "So…what do you think?" she asked perkily, but his ears detected an anxious note. 

Is she worried that I won't find her attractive? His gaze softened, and he smiled reassuringly. "You're far more beautiful than you say I am. Any man would be proud to court you."

Her deep blue eyes shimmered as she said tenderly, "Oh, Zelgadis…darling. I love you so much! No matter how things turn out, you will always hold my heart in your hands." 

The cynical side of the stone man wanted to smirk at such melodramatic mush, but the other part of him was very touched, because he knew she genuinely meant every word. 

And then both parts of him melded into an astonished whole as the young woman lifted one of the stone hands she was still holding, and placed his palm flat against her chest above her bosom, directly over her heart. She watched his face as she did so, her expression solemn and trusting, and he could only stare into her shining sapphire eyes and marvel over the incredible tenderness that arose within him from her intimate gesture. "Amelia…" His voice was rough. 

After a few moments, her other hand released his free hand. He didn't move as she reached out to touch his stone face, as she had so long ago back at the palace, caressing it affectionately before lowering her hand until it was in front of his own chest. 

He understood immediately. His expression softened as he took her hand in his free one and guided it to his heart. Zelgadis felt her hand tremble as she placed it on his chest just above where the blue gem hung, and he covered her small hand with his own, fighting the impulse to push it straight on through to his heart.

Neither of them noticed the brief, faint magenta glimmer that appeared deep within Amelia's ward bracelet, or the matching glow in the one on Zelgadis' belt. 

The princess and the chimera gazed into each other's eyes, their bodies close enough that Amelia could feel his breath on her arms and face. The hand that was on his chest was enveloped in a pocket of warmth, both from his chest and the gloved hand which covered hers. She wondered if Zelgadis could hear her heart pounding, reflecting her escalating joy at her progress. _A month ago I'd despaired that I'd ever be able to be so close to him, and now... _ She sighed in contentment. _My Zelgadis…_

To the chimera, it almost seemed as if they were declaring some kind of oath, but Amelia only said in a soft tone, "You're so warm, Zelgadis…so wonderful..."

His eyes widened at the endearment, still amazed at the novelty of it; that such words, so lovingly spoken, were for him alone. He wished he could feel the softness of her skin, and wondered if she could feel the thunderous beating of his heart through his stone chest. _I almost think I can hear hers…_

He smiled at her, wanting to see her face light up in response. Vaguely he realized that he had never found it so easy to smile before--not even before he'd been cursed. A sudden notion made him frown thoughtfully. 

"What's wrong?" Amelia asked.

"Nothing…it just occurred to me that if Rezo hadn't cursed me, I would never have met you. And if I hadn't, I'd probably still be lonely and miserable."

"What do you mean, still? You'd be human, wouldn't you?" Her brow furrowed cutely in bewilderment. 

He pulled her hand gently away from his chest to curl his own hand around it. "Yes…but I was never very well-liked. I didn't have many real friends, apart from Zolf and Rodimus…"

"Miss Lina said you had a whole bunch of people with you when she first met you," Amelia protested, squeezing his hand where it still lay against her chest, then lifting it up and interlocking her fingers with his. 

"They were mostly Rezo's hirelings; they never cared about me personally," he explained, gazing at the way her small fingers appeared from between his own blue ones. He moved his fingers apart a little more to make sure he wasn't crushing hers. _I have a feeling she won't tell me even if I _am_ hurting her. Sometimes she's a little _too_ forbearing._

"That's so sad…" Her eyes darkened in sympathy.

He shrugged. "That's all in the past, now."

Amelia was silent for a few moments, and then her expression brightened. "You mean…you're happy now?"

He hesitated, wondering if she was right, but was unwilling to curse his hopes by admitting anything, even to himself. "I don't know. It's been so long since I could truly say that I've been…happy… I've almost forgotten what it feels like." 

She looked so disappointed that he added with a smile, "Well, let's just say that my outlook has gotten brighter lately…and you have a lot to do with it."

Instantly she gave him a dazzling grin, making his outlook very bright indeed. As she did so, her dark bangs dropped forward over her eyes, and she automatically pushed out her lower lip and blew them upward. 

He made a small noise that might have been the beginning of a rare laugh, and she gave him a mild glare. "You never finished with my hair." Her tone was half petulant, half teasing. 

He responded to the teasing half, his own voice tinged with humor. "I didn't have a brush…and stone fingers don't make the best of combs, you know."

Her gaze softened. "Good enough…" she murmured. He caught the note of yearning in her voice before she said brightly, "I'll go get my brush, then. _You_ were the one who messed it up, so _you_ can fix it for me. I don't have a mirror, anyway, so I couldn't be sure I was getting it right." 

She was gone through the curtain before he could blink, and back in only a few seconds. He took the brush from her wordlessly, still slightly stunned that she seemed to _want _him to touch her. She was certainly letting no opportunity slip by. 

The young princess settled herself down in front of him, slightly to one side so that he could still see out of the window. "Is this all right?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered, and reached out with the brush. He stroked gently, starting at the bottom and working his way up. 

"You're only doing the surface," Amelia said softly, without turning around. "Don't be afraid of hurting me--you can press down a little harder." 

He made a wordless sound of surprised acknowledgment. _She read my mind. I wonder if she has her eyes closed like before… She really seemed to enjoy me running my fingers through her hair. I don't remember particularly enjoying to brush my hair when I was human, but maybe it's different when someone else is doing it. Sunshine and Shiran certainly seem to love it when I groom them. _

Amelia barely moved as he ran the brush through her midnight tresses. Curiosity led him to lean around her so that he could look into her face, and he was surprised by the smile of pure pleasure that she wore. _And sure enough, her eyes are closed. I wonder what it is about having someone brush your hair?_

It only took him a few minutes to finish. Amelia helped him by holding the hair on the top of her head together in a topknot while he tied the little white ribbon around it, then turned to face him. "Well?"

You just asked my opinion on this hairstyle. Zelgadis shrugged and smiled a little. "It still looks cute." 

The young princess stared at him for a few moments, then giggled, moving to sit next to him again and taking his near hand in hers. "Thank you. For everything." _For letting me into your heart._

*

Try as she might, the petite sorceress could not make out any sounds at all from the front end of the Woodwind. With an unladylike snort of disgust, she dropped to the hay-covered floor across from Gourry, who looked at her a little apprehensively in the soft light. "Lina…?" he asked cautiously.

"What?" she snapped brusquely. 

He jumped a little, and Sunshine flicked her ears and moved to the other end of the stall. Shiran gazed at her with cool green eyes, then rose to her feet and leaped effortlessly over the five-foot-high wall, obviously deciding to vacate the area until the redhead was over her latest tantrum. 

"Um…are you mad about something?" 

"Yes!" she snarled automatically, but the concerned look in his eyes calmed her somewhat. "Well…it's just so frustrating! I want to make sure everything's okay now between them, that Zelgadis doesn't do another about-face like that time he turned on Martina after they'd hired him as a guard."

Slowly Gourry smiled, and as always, the hard fist of anger in her chest began to unclench a little at the sight. "I don't think he will," her fiance answered, though it wasn't clear if he remembered the incident in question. "He's been waiting for this for a long time, and he's not the kind of person who easily gives up anything he really values once he's gotten it." 

Looking up at the large blonde swordsman, who was sitting comfortably cross-legged on the other side of Sunshine's stall, the red-haired sorceress felt the fist relax even more. "You're right," she admitted, relieved, and then added spontaneously, "Gourry, how do you always know just the right thing to say? You always make me feel better."

Not really expecting an answer, Lina moved toward him on her hands and knees and threw her arms around the young man's neck, letting her body drape itself down his chest. Gourry's arms came up to hold her, guiding her lower half to sit in her favorite spot--his lap. 

But the young sorceress resisted, not releasing her hold, knowing that they were unlikely to be disturbed for quite a while--probably not until shift change, which was a few hours from now--and she wanted to use the time alone with Gourry to make some changes of her own. _I want to do more than just kiss…but how do I get the idea across to him?_

When she did not slide down into his lap, one of Gourry's arms moved to wrap around her lower back instead, supporting her against him while she more or less knelt beside him. "I do?" he asked, sounding surprised.

It took her a moment to realized that he was replying to her last statement. "You usually get mad at the stuff I say," he added.

Now Lina was embarrassed. "Well, I mean…lately you seem…I don't know, wiser or something." She was glad that he could not see her red face from where it was pressing against the side of his neck. "I've been asking your opinion on stuff, and even following your advice, and most of the time you've been right on the money."

Maybe it's the kinds of situations we've been dealing with lately. Stuff I'm no good at, but he… "You really seem to have a handle on this romance stuff," she admitted, only a little grudgingly.

Gourry seemed to be thinking this over. "You mean I'm actually _smart_ at something?" 

The sheer amazement in his voice caused Lina to burst into joyous laughter. "I guess _so!" _

Gourry's deeper chuckle joined hers and he hugged her closely to him, both of them very much enjoying the sensation. 

It still feels weird to be able to feel someone laughing, but in a good way, Lina decided. Much encouraged by the warm feeling generated by their shared laughter, the small sorceress took advantage of the opportunity literally in front of her and pressed her lips to the side of his warm, smooth neck.

Gourry's laughter ended in a quick gasp, and he froze. 

Her own breath began to come faster, and her heartbeat picked up speed as she waited, not moving her lips away. Some of his yellow hair flowed over the side of her face, and she was surrounded by his male scent, warm, rich, and tangy. 

"Lina?" His voice was so soft it was almost inaudible. 

In answer, she tightened her arms a little around his neck, and forced her taut body to relax against him, letting him support her whole weight. 

For a long moment there were no sounds other than the rushing wind and their own breathing, louder and faster and heavier than usual. Lina could feel how tense the swordsman was, and closed her eyes, once again experiencing feelings that were alien to the bold sorcery genius--feelings that she hated and worked hard to stamp out. _What if he rejects me? What if he laughs at me, or worse, says he's not interested? He may love me, but he's never said I was sexy or anything…_

__

What is she doing? Gourry reached up and took hold of the girl's upper arms, gently moving her away from him so that he could look into her eyes. His breath caught as he took in her expression: her eyes, her heart's windows, those vibrant pools of shimmering ruby liquid were looking up at him from a face full of conflicting emotions. Doubt, fear, longing…and just a hint of a hopeful smile.

Is she trying to tell me she's ready? The realization brought an electric tingle of excitement, but her troubled expression sobered him until he suddenly sensed that the fear in her eyes was not for herself. _Is she afraid that I don't want her to touch me? Oh, Lina. _To reassure her, he smiled at her, letting her see just how passionate his feelings were. _Yes, I want you. I want you more than anything. _

As the young sorceress watched, Gourry's expression went from searching to smiling, but not an ordinary smile; this smile nearly took her breath away from the sheer magnetism behind those vivid blue eyes. It almost made her feel weak--she was glad to have Gourry's strong arms supporting her--and at the same time her entire body began tingling as if she'd received a medium-strength Giga Volt. _I never knew somebody could make you feel like this just by looking at you! _she thought breathlessly, feeling her entire face grow hot, but not caring. 

"Gou-rry," she murmured aloud, barely noticing that her voice had gone husky again. 

"Lina," he responded, and she could hear the gladness in his tone. 

He is _interested! He's been waiting for me again--waiting patiently all this time until I was sure I was ready, _she realized abruptly, and her chest was suffused with warmth. "I love you," she said softly, looking directly into those sky-blue eyes which saw only her, and had the pleasure of seeing how much joy that simple statement gave him. _Why did I ever think those words were so hard to say? _

"I love you too, Lina." His voice reflected his words--it was low and rich and sensual, sending shivers up her spine at the very sound of it. "I always have. And I always will." 

"Oh, Gourry," she breathed passionately, her fierce love for him suddenly looking for an outlet--she even had tears in her eyes. Abruptly she pulled his head down to hers and kissed him hotly on the mouth, wanting to express in no uncertain terms just how badly she wanted him, wanted his hands on her body, his mouth, his…his _tongue? _

With a small sound of astonishment, she froze as she felt his tongue moving into her mouth, sliding along the roof, coming into contact with her own tongue, which automatically moved to push against this odd intruder. It felt so strange, and yet something about the way it moved _felt_ like Gourry, as if he was asking her, _Let's play! _curling his tongue around hers, caressing it and coaxing it to do the same, to taste and discover and have fun…

Never let it be said that Lina Inverse is afraid of anything, she thought with a mental grin, and pushed out with her own tongue, sliding it along his warm, wet surface and into his mouth. She felt his teeth for just a moment before he opened wider to accommodate her, and then she was too busy discovering the intriguing flavor of _his_ mouth to worry about little details like teeth. 

**********************************************************************

****

Author's Note: I'm pretty sure the title is self explanatory, but yes, it's the English word 'romance', spoken as the Japanese say it, with the 'R' at the beginning sounding more like an 'L'. For some reason I _really_ like the sound of the word.

****

Aino-kaachan has a valuable correction: '"Anata" is only used from wife to husband.'

* You know, now that you mention it, I can't remember ever hearing a guy say it. Thanks for the correction--boy, am I blushing now! I'll have to try to fix that, if ff.net will cooperate… So what do husbands call their wives? Are there any general pet names?  
  
**Brenda asks: **'Why did you feel the need to use the term "Anata" in your last chapter when an english term such as "my love" or "sweetheart" would have been just as effective?'

* To tell you the truth, I was wavering on that issue right up until my last editing session. I went with anata (which is wrong, according to **Aino-kaachan, **but anyway--) partly because I mostly watch anime in Japanese, so I hear it that way in my head (though I actually like the dub a little better than the sub, in the case of Slayers), and I guess it seemed more…romantic…to me. I suppose the people who prefer watching anime subtitled would also hear the word as romantic--it would have a special meaning to them, as opposed to the people who like dubs better.

* Also, it was because Zel does not seem the type to use mushy words, so I thought 'you' would be more in character for him. 

* And last, I liked the idea of using a Japanese love-word because I wanted to include a bit of Japanese culture. For the most part, you can't tell by watching Slayers (in English) that it's a Japanese-based show. I miss the little things--the chopsticks, the take-your-shoes-off-before-entering, and the polite bowing. Even the food they eat usually looks Western a lot of the time. So I would guess that some of us who use Japanese words in our fanfics are doing it out of a fondness for the culture. When I read fanfics with Japanese words, I tend to find their usage cute, endearing.   
  
**Lina Gabriev comments: '**Amelia is thinking of betraying Zel's trust and doing the spell, and neither is entirely sure that Filia will be able to do the job. The whole point of asking Filia is to get Amelia out of danger, but what happens if it puts Filia in danger?'

* Actually, it's Lina who was thinking Amelia was going to betray Zel's trust. Amelia is thinking more along the lines of being ready to do the spell 'just in case', but she still wants his approval. And after seeing Filia's powers, none of them really doubt that she could handle this spell, so they're not that worried about it. The problem with Filia is trying to convince her to do it…  
  
**Beedoo says:** 'fanpiccies. Working on one for ya. ;) What's the count up to?'

* Yes! *gleeful* A new fanpic! I think I have about eight or so now--but I could definitely use more! I need to do a calendar page for April…  


****

Noseless Wonder comments: 'Oddly enough, however, my favorite part of this story involved a small element that you made entirely your own - music. Describing the emotional effect of music can be as difficult as trying to describe an oddly familiar, unplaceable scent... or writing a fight scene. I've studied music for over 17 years now, but I don't think I've read someone so clearly describe what music can FEEL like inside.' 

* Thank you very much! One of my passions is singing, and recently I've discovered that I like certain instrumental music, such as relaxation tapes that have flute, harp, and/or piano music. (That's what kind of music Zelgadis was listening to during the shopping trip in Tollik. ^__^ ) I like a lot of Celtic music. One of my most-often-reread book series is the Dragonsong books by Anne McCaffery. She does such a good job of explaining how important music is. 

  
**Sylver-Ajah asks: **What do you watch, by the way?

* I have been steadily renting anime for the past three years now, and have seen probably close to 70 different series, so if you'd like some recommendations… Let's see…shows that come the closest to meeting my high standards: Besides Slayers, my top favorite anime include Fruits Basket (even my male friends like this--the comedy wins 'em over), Saint Tail (I like shows with an emotionally satisfying ending!), Chobits (starts out slow, but gets better), Sugar-A Little Snow Fairy (DVDs 3-6 were much better than the beginning, with a very moving storyline), His and Her Circumstances (the manga is called Kare Kano; just don't bother getting the last DVD, because the director quit, I heard, and so they just threw something together. I was VERY disappointed with the ending, but the first 2 DVDs and the 4th were top-notch, well worth your money), Rurouni Kenshin (the TV series, NOT the movies), Love Hina (not much real romance, but the humor makes up for it), Magic User's Club (same thing), Ai Yori Aoshi (so refreshing to have a show where the guy whom all the girls like does NOT get beat up on, and even more refreshing that he actually manages to choose one of them quite early on in the series), Ushio and Tora (rough around the edges, but the characters really grow on you--look online for info on the manga), Kiki's Delivery Service, and Pretear.

In the second tier are anime that fall a bit short of 'five stars' for one reason or another. Sometimes there's not enough romance, sometimes they add too much filler and draw it out a little too long, sometimes the plot is a bit confusing unless you've read the manga, sometimes it's just one of those series that you can't watch too often or the magic goes out of it, but if you wait until you've forgotten most of it… Inu Yasha, Super Gals, Kurogane Communications, Fancy Lala, Please Save my Earth, Ranma ½ , I My Me Strawberry Eggs, Birdy the Mighty, Full Metal Panic, My Neighbor Totoro, Twelve Kingdoms (volumes 2 and 3, at any rate), Vandread, Onegai Sensei (Please Teacher), Nadia-the Secret of Blue Water, Fushigi Yuugi, Ayashi no Ceres (Ceres, Celestial Legend), Alien Nine, Gokudo, Knight Hunters (Weiss Kreuz), and Descendants of Darkness (Yami no Matsui, manga). 

*Non-anime movies that I find myself watching over and over: The Flight of Dragons, Magic in the Water, Once Upon a Forest, Howard the Duck, the Muppet movies, especially the 'Christmas Toy' special, The Land Before Time (just the first one, where there was heart-rending tragedy and genuine animal sounds for the main characters), The Boy Who Could Fly, Mother Goose Rock 'N' Rhyme, The Lion King, A Goofy Movie, and The Pebble and the Penguin (you HAVE to see this if you like music!). 

*Non-anime that has stood up to the re-watchability test include: Hey Arnold, Darkwing Duck, The Raccoons, Rainbow Brite, Mork and Mindy, The Greatest American Hero, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate SG1 (don't judge the series by the bad movie), Reboot--especially the third season, which you can find on DVD, Lois and Clark, Starman, Probe, Misfits of Science, Star Trek (I like DS9 and Voyager best), Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Beauty and the Beast, Family Matters (Steve Urkel-weird, but somehow he has such admirable character), Alien Nation (the TV series, not the movies), Sliders, Quantum Leap, Seaquest, Count Duckula, and Red Dwarf.

*Some of these I bet you've never heard of, but they're all special, with characters you really end up caring about--catch them on reruns if you can! Some can rented, so check your local video stores for old VHS tapes. Maybe if enough of us rent them, they'll put them on DVD! Certain shows/movies I have occasionally seen on VHS on ebay, too.


	70. Chapter 70: Growing Ever Closer

****

Only Stone on the Outside 

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG-15 for mild language and lime-i-ness

Note: 

Chapter Seventy: Growing Ever Closer

"Hey! You mean you've known I was in love with you since the Oracle and you never _said_ anything?" Amelia exclaimed indignantly out of the blue, turning to glare up at Zelgadis from her spot next to him in front of the ship's window.

Zelgadis' jaw dropped. "Uh…" _Where did that come from? Oh--she must have just made the connection between the 'sorceress who must love me' and the fact that the Oracle specifically named _her_ to be the one who is to cast my cure-spell. I'd forgotten about that…_

"I…didn't want to make things awkward between us," he confessed, averting his eyes. His gaze dropped down to the slight space between her leg and his, where their clasped hands hung. "At the time, I'd felt that there was no way I could have returned your feelings... And I'd made up my mind to put aside the self-serving desires that had brought me nothing but loneliness and disappointment, and decided to do everything I could to keep the few real friends I had safe…" 

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, forcing himself to look at her. This subject still held a lot of raw, painful emotions for him, but the concerned, compassionate look in the blue eyes gazing up at him compelled him to continue. "Especially you. If I couldn't be there for you as a man, then I would as a chimera.…and then Lina and Gourry were kidnapped and we had to search for them, and I kept avoiding the issue because…"

"Because…" Amelia repeated encouragingly.

"Because…I was a coward." His shoulders slumped, and he pulled his hand from hers and turned away, unable to meet her gaze. "I wanted to enjoy your company--you have no idea how good it felt to know someone loved me, after so many years of being alone--so I kept putting off telling you how I felt, even pretending to _myself_ that I wasn't really interested in you as anything but a friend. I didn't tell you even though I knew that the longer I put it off, the more it would hurt you when I finally did tell you the truth…"

A small hand took hold of his chin and turned his face toward the young princess. "But don't you see, it _wasn't_ the truth!" Her sapphire eyes looked earnestly into his as she continued vehemently, "You knew that deep down; _that's_ why you couldn't tell me! You didn't want to confess to a lie."

He smiled wryly. "Would that I were that noble. I was just trying to avoid a confrontation--you know how I hate emotional scenes."

Amelia released his chin and scowled, letting out a breath in that exasperated way women have when they're dealing with someone uncooperative. She put her hands on her hips and scolded, "Ooo, Zelgadis Greywyrs, you--! You may like to think of yourself as a villain, but _I _know perfectly well that you're a decent, honorable man. It's a good thing you finally _did_ tell me, or I'd have--" She clamped her mouth shut, looking away.

"You'd have what?"

She was silent, making the chimera suspicious. "What would you have done, Amelia?"

"……"

"Amelia!"

She fidgeted, bringing her arms down into her lap and hunching her shoulders. "Leave…"

If not for his chimeric hearing he might not have heard her. "Leave…what?" Something in her expression--guilt, perhaps--gave him the answer. "Leave _Seyrune?"_

She nodded almost imperceptibly, still not looking at him.

He shook his head, looking gravely down at her. "I would never have allowed that."

He didn't see her fists clench, nor the sudden redness that suffused her cheeks. Suddenly she whirled on him, shouting, "Never al_lowed? _Who said I needed your permission?" 

She was in a fury, and he recoiled instinctively, more from astonishment than from fear. _What's gotten into her? _

"Of all the nerve! Even if I wasn't a princess, how _dare _you act like those horrible men who think a woman is a piece of property with no will of her own! You of all people should know how that feels--and besides, women in Seyrune are equal citizens with men."

Even as he realized that she was still smarting from the treatment she had received by the vicious men back at the inn, he caught the flaw in her logic. "You did that to me," he pointed out sourly, his eyes narrowing. "You and Lina planned this entire trip, right down to the walk down the aisle."

She faltered, the wind knocked from her sails. He glanced out the window, corrected their course slightly, and turned back in time to see Amelia looking shamefaced. "We did," she admitted in a small voice, "but if you'd said 'no' after you'd had time to adjust to being human again, I wouldn't have forced you into it! That's the _last_ thing I wanted. I just…" she sniffed, "wanted you to have the chance to learn to love me…" 

As always, the sight of his princess in distress made his protective instincts emerge, dousing the flare of contention. Wordlessly the stone man reached out and put an arm around the young girl's shoulders, drawing her closer, where she immediately leaned against him, as if for comfort. 

He looked down at the top of her head, nearly getting her topknot in his eye, and sighed in resignation, smiling slightly. 

What does it matter? We've already been over this…but I do have one last point to make. "Amelia." He was careful to keep his voice soft, non-confrontational. "I didn't mean that you shouldn't be allowed to choose. It's just that I know how much your city needs you."

She sniffled, not looking up at him. "You need me more."

Stung, he opened his mouth and found that nothing would come out, partly because he suspected that she might be right, although his male pride and 'face' would never let him admit it.

"And I need _you, _too," said the girl by his side, looking up at him with huge sapphire eyes that were utterly guileless, earnest, sincere. "I need to _be_ with you." Her voice trembled ever so slightly. 

Her admission did much to mollify him, and he gave her shoulder a careful squeeze. "I know. And I want to be by _your_ side, to be there for you for always, but I know that you would never be happy away from your home. You've always been very glad to return there after a few weeks of traveling." 

She sighed resignedly. "You're right." She was quiet for a moment, then brightened. "Well, we won't have to choose. We can get Miss Filia to help us… and if not, then I'm going to study _really_ hard until I master that spell and I'll have Miss Lina and Mister Xellos--and you, of course--to help me, and we'll _finally _destroy the last vestiges of the spell that the shard of Shabranigdo that possessed Sir Rezo cast on you and _then_…we'll live happily ever after!"

He listened, amused, as she pulled in a big gulp of air to make up for one of the longest sentences he had ever heard. After a moment, his smile faded. "I hope so, Amelia. I hope so." He managed to keep the worry off of his face, although some small part of him deep inside still quailed at the thought of this young, innocent girl having anything to do with a spell that had been created by the terrible Dark Lord. _I'm still dead set against her attempting it, but everyone else seems so confident…it makes me wonder if I'm the one who's wrong. _He sighed._ At least she agreed that the final word is mine, so I don't need to waste the rest of this journey arguing. _

They sat peaceably for a time. Idly, the chimera thought, _We're making good time. Even though our speed isn't great, we're avoiding all the normal obstacles of travel, like lakes and deep gorges that we'd normally have to detour around, so unless I miss my guess we're going to make it to Seyrune with a couple of days to spare. _

Amelia seemed content to lean against him, watching the scenery pass by below them through the large window. Zelgadis mused over her unexpected burst of temper and the reason for it; remembering the time they'd been talking about the men who had almost killed her and how he had wanted to hold her then, to offer comfort for what had obviously been a more traumatic experience than she tried to pretend. 

Wounds of the spirit always do take the longest to heal, don't they, Amelia? You've been hurt so many times--your mother's murder, your relatives' betrayals… Once again I actually feel grateful to Rezo for cursing me; it caused our paths to cross and allows me the honor of being the one to comfort you… 

There was something very relaxing about gliding serenely through an azure sky among feathery white clouds with the girl he loved curled trustfully against him. _A most pleasant way to travel, even if we do owe it to Xellos. _An undercurrent of disquiet--which was always there no matter how peaceful his surface moods were--made him wonder what the price would be for this favor. _I just don't trust that mazoku. I may look like a monster, but inside, he's more of one than I'll ever be. _

The stone man looked down when Amelia moved her hand to place it over the large faceted gemstone that hung just in front of her face from the silver chain around his neck. "It's really beautiful, isn't it?"

He gazed down at the gem, noticing again--as he had previously in the light of their campfire--the gorgeous varied shades of liquid blue contained within. "Yes, it is," he agreed. "It reminds me of your eyes."

He was rewarded for his honesty with the sight of those same sapphire eyes widening in surprise, then melting into an adoring expression. "Oh, Zelgadis…"

She said no more, but the chimera's eyes widened as he felt the light pressure of her arm as it wrapped itself around his waist. She smiled up at him, her eyes shining with affection, and he found it impossible not to smile back. 

After a few moments he imitated her action, tentatively moving his arm from her shoulder to her side, lightly resting his stone fingers upon her softly rounded hip. He felt her stiffen slightly, her eyes widening as she drew in a surprised gasp of air, but she did not protest his action--indeed, he felt her rest more of her weight against him, relaxing, cuddling, her eyes half-closing in blissful contentment as she turned her face back to the endless blue sky. 

Slowly Zelgadis allowed himself to relax. A part of him had still been sure that she would reject him. For far too long he had received only the courtesy given to the Those-Who-Look-Human-But-Are-Not, and some had not bothered to accord him even that, depending on how much they feared him and/or mistrusted him. In a few cases, their hostility had been great enough to goad them into attacking him--not that he'd been in any real danger, but what was the point of being human if one could not _be _human? 

He had been sinking ever deeper into numb despondency by the time Amelia's letter had reached him, traveling from town to town not because he'd had any real hope, but simply because it was easier to keep moving, to stay an anonymous (hooded) human, rather than stay in one place too long and become the local oddity, unwelcome and mistrusted. 

But then I got a letter from a princess, from a very special princess who never gave up hope… 

The chimera turned his face toward the bright sky and closed his eyes briefly, smiling, reveling in the sunlight of her acceptance and knowing that he had never been happier. 

*

Lina and Gourry tongue-wrestled for a while, a sport to which the petite sorceress had quickly become accustomed and was enjoying immensely, but as with all sports, one had to rest sometime. _My tongue's tired, _she realized with amusement as she leaned back in Gourry's arms to look up at him, smiling affectionately at his besotted expression. _I bet he couldn't put two words together right now to save his life. _

The thought brought a kind of pride with it, a feeling of _See, I have what it takes to attract a man's attention; I _am _sexy, so there!_

Now a mute Gourry tenderly set one hand on the side of her face, cupping her jaw and smiling. His blue eyes were ardent, compelling, his silky hair flowing luxurious and golden down his broad chest, framing his beautiful face.

And boy, is he_ sexy! _she admitted to herself. _He's so--hey! What's he doing?_

For the blonde swordsman had tilted her head slightly to the side and was leaning toward her neck. She had just enough time to feel a thrill of excitement before his lips touched her neck, and then a lightning bolt went down her spine.

"Ah," she gasped, and from then on it seemed as if she couldn't get her breath, as the warm lips of her lifelong companion blazed a trail down her neck, across her throat and up the other side. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt his tongue touch her, stroking the side of her neck in a hot wet trail that cooled as his breath touched it, sending shivers all through her. She wanted to sink down into the hay and let him do as he wished with her, and at the same time her bursting energy made her want to touch _him, _to stroke and kiss his body, his beautiful body… 

Acting on the latter impulse, she moved forward on her knees, wanting to climb up on him, and in her ardor she forgot where she was and one knee came down hard between his legs. He yelped and grabbed instinctively at his sensitive parts, letting go of her so that she fell backward onto the hay with a thump. 

For a long moment neither of them moved, trying to rally their hormone-flooded brains to figure out what had just happened. Both of them were breathing hard, and Gourry was doubled up, experiencing intense pain that momentarily blanked everything else out. 

When the pain began to fade, he saw Lina sitting on her calves in front of him, looking contrite. The expression was so unusual--for her--that he realized even before she spoke that she hadn't been punishing him for anything. 

"I'm sorry, Gourry," she said sincerely, her eyes dark with shame and embarrassment. "I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to get closer to you."

"It's okay." He gave her a strained smile. "I wasn't thinking either. We'll just be more careful next time." 

She relaxed somewhat, and her expression became thoughtful as she looked down at the area that he was still covering protectively with his hands. "Um…does it hurt much?"

The swordsman sensed that this was another new step--she was becoming openly curious about that part of him that was so important during lovemaking. "It's going away now," he reassured her, moving his hands away. 

He noticed her taking a good look at that area before she realized what she was staring at, and then she looked up into his face. He smiled and watched her turn red, but to her credit, she didn't look away, meeting his gaze bravely. He knew that she had noticed his recent growth, which even the pain of an ill-timed clout could not diminish quickly. 

In the past he had tried not to call attention to that part of him, knowing instinctively that it would only make her uncomfortable. For the most part, he had simply ignored those sensations, either tuning out his lower half, or delicately endeavoring to shift her away from the telltale signs of his attraction to her when the former strategy was unsuccessful. 

He saw that she was at a loss, wanting to resume their recent enjoyment but not knowing how, so he opened his arms to her, smiling affectionately. "C'mere, Lina," he said, suppressing the old reflex to call her 'kid'. 

She moved gladly into his arms, leaning into his chest and wrapping her arms around his body with her knees prudently to one side of his legs. He noticed that she was being more gentle than usual, which he appreciated, hoping that she would remember her blunder in the future. 

Gourry drank in her fragrance, that of warm female skin and the slight tangyness of fresh sweat, burying his nose in her silky bright flower-scented hair. "Mmm… You smell so good," he told her blissfully.

He heard her make a small sound of surprise, and then she shifted slightly, and at the touch of her tongue on his neck he lost the ability to form sentences.

They might have gone on like that forever… but when the ship gave a sudden, ghastly lurch, dropping out from under them, he howled in fear and clutched the small girl to him like a life preserver, as the frantic mare beside them gave a shrill scream of terror.

*********************************************************************

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Author's Notes: Zel and Amelia's first lovers' quarrel! Tee Hee! It's a good thing the Woodwind is an easy ship to fly as long as there's nothing to hit!

I notice thatI'm portraying Lina and Gourry's physical romance somewhat differently than Zelgadis and Amelia's. It seems logical to me that our bright-haired couple would be more likely to enjoy the physical side of a relationship--with much enthusiasm--whenever possible! ^__^ Even if Zel were human at this point, I think he'd be much more reserved. Amelia would probably be more comfortable showing affection, but she'd be influenced by Zelgadis' preferences. It would probably take a while for Zel to learn the little ways a couple uses to show affection--a peck on the cheek, a hug, for no reason other than to say 'I love you'. Amelia will show him how. ^_~ 

Gee, as I reread what I wrote I wonder now if the lime descriptions may be too embarrassing or offensive to some people. I'm not planning to have a lot of it, only where it would logically be in a real-life situation, and not always as descriptive as this was. No full lemons either, to reassure those of you who may be uncomfortable reading about those kind of situations. Perhaps I may write a lemon side story, although I've never written one before and you can't post them on FF.net anyway, but not until I've finished this fic. 

But I'm very critical of how I'm writing limes lately…was this any good? 

****

Claudia22 says: 'usually the husband of a Queen has no real powers, he doesn't even become a King'

* I didn't know that. Well, if I were a Queen-to-be, I'd want someone who could support me as Queen, who could help out, even if he never had any official power; he could at least offer sound advice. And since this is my fic, I can also decree that Zelgadis will be granted equal status with Amelia if he marries her. Hey, that would even make sense--it would be yet another reason why the people of Seyrune would be upset if a chimera was ruling over them.


	71. Chapter 71: This Isn't What It Looks Li...

****

Only Stone on the Outside 

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

PG-15 for minor swearing and lime-i-ness

Chapter Seventy-One: This Isn't What It Looks Like!

The princess and the chimera sat side by side with their arms around each other's waists, watching the wispy white clouds pass by as the ship soared through the azure sky. At first content, Zelgadis gradually found himself wishing that he could feel the warmth of Amelia's body as easily as that of her love. 

The thought stirred a sensation that had nearly always ended in a special kind of frustration for the stone man. _Amelia told me that she was actually looking forward to the time when we could share pleasure together. She'll be my first… _A wry smile appeared on his face. _I'm twenty-three years old and still a virgin. I hope I don't embarrass myself._

It was then that the chimera realized that he actually believed that he was going to be cured. 

His eyes widened. _It's Amelia influence--the power of her optimism is so great that she's actually managing to convince me that this is going to work, against my better judgment! What a girl--I mean, woman she is! She'll be a splendid ruler some day, loved by her people, as Prince Phil is. Loved by men and women…men…_

He imagined the princess in a magnificent sapphire-blue gown that matched her eyes, waving to crowds of cheering admirers, the men all bowing and falling all over themselves to serve her. _I can still hardly believe that she chose _me_ over the many rich, powerful, _human_ suitors she must have had…_

He frowned. _Wait a minute…she _did _choose someone. She…has a fiance…_

Amelia was wondering what Lina and Gourry might be doing. They had been awfully quiet for quite a while now--and then she blushed a bright pink over her nose. _I bet they're kissing again. _She fought the itch of curiosity that made her want to creep out to the back and peek into Sunshine's stall through a crack in the wall. 

She noticed the way Zelgadis' hard torso pressed against her arm and body as he breathed, and suddenly had the impulse to follow her friends' example and fling herself upon her chimera, kissing him passionately. Almost as soon as she imagined it, she felt her face burst into fiery embarrassment and put her free hand to her cheek. _Oh, I couldn't! …Could I? _She found herself glancing at him appraisingly out of the corners of her eyes._ Would he let me? _

She was seriously considering that course of action, heedless of any accidental bruises she might receive, when Zelgadis made the small sound one makes when they remember something they've forgotten, and his arm moved away from her. She shivered slightly at the sudden chill, both atmospheric and emotional, that was suddenly in the air. 

"What is it?" She turned to look up at him.

His face had closed down and become the hard, emotionless shell that she so wished that he would never feel the need to use again. "You…have a fiance, don't you?" 

Zelgadis had brought up this particular topic only once, during of one of their terrible arguments, but neither of them had made the slightest mention of it since. Amelia hadn't wanted to make things any worse between them, and after he had finally admitted his true feelings for her she had all but forgotten about the young man to whom she had proposed just before she'd set out to locate her friends. 

Now she blushed, feeling unaccountably guilty, a large sweatdrop appearing above the back of her head. _Poor Kerrin. _"Um…yes. I--well--I needed to make sure I would have someone to mar--to rule with in case something went wrong."

The stone man was silent. Awkwardly, Amelia said, "Don't worry--I like him, but only as a friend. He's nice enough, but he just isn't you."

The chimera could have been mistaken for an exquisitely carved sculpture; only his warmth and the slight movements his body made as he breathed against her side revealed his living essence. 

Hurriedly she continued, "He knows about you--I made sure that he knew that you were my first choice--my only choice, really, but Daddy needed me to choose someone before I left, so that Seyrune's future was assured…"

Still he did not move. 

"I didn't want to!" Anxiously she tightened her arm around his slender waist and put her other hand on his chest. "I had no choice--you _know_ that!"

Slowly he turned his head, gazing out at the sky, and said quietly, "But he _is_ your official fiance. Are you so sure that he will be willing to let you go?"

Amelia was glad to get any kind of response, and said eagerly, "Oh, yes, he's a very nice boy--I had a long talk with him while we were dancing and I told him how much I loved you and he said he'd had a crush on me for a long time and--"

She cut herself off, suddenly realizing what she had said. _Kerrin _did_ say he was in love with me--sort of. What if Zelgadis is right and he decides not to break off the engagement? _

"No…" she murmured in denial, trying to smother the awful suspicion that the friendly-seeming young man she'd met was as grasping and opportunistic as any of the older men who had courted her, but now that Zelgadis had pointed it out, she wondered why such a thing had never occurred to her before. _He might have only been telling me what I wanted to hear--and the fact that he looks so much like Zelgadis might have blinded me to his faults… I wanted to believe that he was as innocent as he appeared. _

"No! I won't!" she cried, throwing herself bodily onto the chimera's rigid chest, knocking him to the floor, oblivious of any pain. "They can't make me!"

Then a piercing shriek burst from her throat as the ship gave a violent lurch. Her stomach seemed to drop as the ship bucked and swayed like a wild thing, pitching and soaring sickeningly, and above the sound of her own terrified squeals she heard other screams, both animal and non, coming from the back area. 

Almost instantly she felt Zelgadis' hard arms around her, holding her close to him as he stiffened, obviously concentrating on stabilizing the ship. She clung to him, afraid to move, afraid to interfere with his concentration. The sound of rushing wind outside died away as the ship came to a stop, hovering in the air. It only took a few moments, but by then Amelia was conscious of stumbling footsteps approaching from the back.

"Hey, you guys! What the hell is--"

Lina's voice cut off abruptly, and Amelia suddenly realized how this situation must look: herself, lying sprawled full-length on top of the chimera, who was either too embarrassed or too busy concentrating on maintaining their equilibrium to move. 

"Um…this isn't what it looks like…" she said weakly, her face so hot she felt it would explode like one of Lina's Dragon Slaves. She could only see her friends' boots and part of their legs from this angle, and was frankly afraid to look higher. Shiran approached her and gave both of them a vigorous sniffing, obviously making sure that neither of them was hurt. 

"Uh…right…" Lina sounded as embarrassed she was. She cleared her throat. "Listen…can you guys cool it down while you're piloting? If you…uh, need any privacy later, that's fine, but--"

"No, no!" Amelia waved her hands frantically from the wrists, propping herself up on her elbows as she felt Zelgadis' arms release her. "You've got it all wrong!"

"Yeah…whatever…just try to pay a little more attention, huh?" Lina's face was as red as her hair, while beside her Gourry was staring down at them with wide eyes. 

Amelia gave up; she was never going to convince them of the truth. _Besides, _she admitted guiltily to herself, _something like this might have actually happened if I'd tried to kiss Zelgadis like I wanted to. _At least neither of them looked particularly angry about the near-disaster, so she allowed her shoulders to slump as she said meekly, "I'm sorry, Miss Lina, Mister Gourry. It won't happen again."

"Good." The red-haired sorceress turned on her heel, dragging Gourry behind her. 

The blonde swordsman glanced back at them for a moment with a small smile and said, "It might be easier for Zel to see where he's going if you move over a little." He disappeared through the gaudy red and yellow curtain.

The young princess looked down to discover that her bosom was completely covering the chimera's face. Stunned, she froze for several seconds, and then scrambled to her hands and knees, straddling his body, looking down into a stone face that had gone lavender, either from embarrassment or air loss, his teal eyes wide and staring.

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

Slowly his eyes focused, and he blinked. "I've never been better," he said in a tone that was an odd mixture of awe and humor, and she noticed that his gaze was directed at her generous bosom, which was, after all, directly in his line of sight. 

She stiffened, fighting the instinctive reflex to slap his face, wanting to pull away with her arms crossed over her chest and at the same time wanting to stay close to him. 

Her face must have shown her indecision, because he smiled at her, his eyelids lowering amorously, and she found herself smiling back, relaxing, remembering that this particular man was the one whom she had chosen to have the right to look at her body if he wanted to.

To her delight, his blue-green eyes were wonderfully unguarded, openly revealing everything he was feeling inside. Part of his expression was gentle, obviously meant to reassure her, but foremost in his eyes was a glow that she had seen before, but only in brief, momentary flickers: the eager gleam of desire. 

The thought made her a little nervous, but it also pleased her greatly that he found her attractive, even though she wasn't quite sure what to do about it. As a princess she had been obliged to repel men's advances, whether they knew that she was a princess or not; thus she had woefully little experience beyond what her instincts told her. 

Still she lingered, straddling his body on her hands and knees, her heart pounding. Both of them were breathing heavily, the chimera's breath stirring her raven tresses which hung down nearly to his face, creating their own little intimate world. Her body was behaving oddly; she was all tense, with strange, pleasurable little twitches and tingles here and there, and she found herself wishing that he would reach up to touch her, to run his slender blue hands over her body--her skin… 

She badly wanted to drop back down on top of him and wrap her arms around him, and only the knowledge that their friends would be back to find out why the ship wasn't moving made her reluctantly crawl backward until she was sitting on the floor beyond his feet. 

He sat up slowly, his eyes never leaving her, and she could see him gradually bringing himself back under control, his expression smoothing into the calm, even expression that he normally wore around her. It wasn't much different from the poker face he affected around strangers, but somehow she could tell that _this _version was much more likely to smile. 

Then, with a jolt, she also noticed that his trousers had developed a small but distinctive bulge. Her eyes flew open, then she blushed and modestly looked away. It did not take long, however, before she found her fascinated gaze straying back. 

Zelgadis noticed where Amelia was looking and a blush matching hers covered his nose. His new blue tunic was not as long as his old one had been, but it had not occurred to him that something like this might happen. Automatically he started to turn his body away from her, but then he noticed that the young girl, flushing daintily, had politely turned her face away, and he couldn't help smiling at her charming naïveté despite his own embarrassment. 

__

Does this bother her? he wondered, but did not quite have the courage to ask her. As he faced forward he caught a slight movement from the corner of his eye--her head had tilted so that she could peek at his lap. 

His instinctive reaction was to cover himself and yell, 'What are _you_ looking at?', but the look on her face stopped him. He had always hated being stared at, even before he'd become a chimera, but Amelia's face held no disgust, no 'Eww, gross!', only wide-eyed curiosity, and a touch of…awe? 

Irritation, embarrassment and amusement had a battle in his head, but eventually his amusement won. _She's still blushing._ Seeing her just as uncomfortable as he was made the chimera feel better. He resumed his former cross-legged position, not trying to hide his condition from her, composing himself to accept her stare as he would from no other. _It must be as enticing to her as breasts are to men, _he thought wryly._ This is still a new experience for her. We've seen each other without clothes before, but only for a few moments. _

It took her a minute before she realized that he was watching her, a tolerant expression on his face. The pink flush over her nose rushed out to her cheeks as she gave him a slightly-panicky look and blurted out, "I'm sorry!"

He chuckled quietly, smiling affectionately at the flustered young girl. "That's all right." He let his gaze focus on the blue sky outside the window, politely ignoring her discomfiture, and willed the ship to move forward. 

He thought about her sudden, frantic tackle, and the reason for it. _There's no use worrying her, _he reasoned, regretting that he had shared his suspicion with her. _There's nothing we can do until we arrive in Seyrune. I just hope this 'boy' keeps his word…or I might have to challenge him to a duel. _He smiled grimly, his eyes narrowing. _Amelia wouldn't agree, but there are times when killing _is_ necessary to achieve your goals. Now that I've finally acknowledged my love for her, I won't to give her up without a fight!_

*

The Gem of Candor strikes again! Lina thought triumphantly, turning away from where she'd been eavesdropping behind the curtain. She almost ran into Sunshine's head. The palomino mare had her head as far over the stall wall as it would go, breathing hoarsely, white-eyed with fear. 

"Whoa! Easy, easy, girl…" Lina said soothingly, reaching up toward the mare's nose. The normally even-tempered horse threw her head up and down in agitation, and for several minutes she and Gourry were both busy reassuring the golden mare. Shiran suddenly appeared, and leaped into the stall, touching noses with Sunshine and doing an even better job of soothing the horse than the humans were. 

"Hey, Lina?"

"What, Gourry?"

"Do you think Sunny might calm down if I sing her the lullaby I sang to you when you were sick?"

Lina turned her gaze on the blonde swordsman, remembering the gentle sound of his singing voice. _I've been wanting to ask him to sing again. _"Sure, Gourry."

Gourry nodded and began to sing, his light baritone flowing as easily as the breeze, soothing away the fear of the past few minutes, restoring a sense of safety to the little room. Eventually all of them were resting in the hay, with the mare standing very close to the humans, occasionally reaching down to touch one or the other gently on the head with her soft nose. 

Gourry didn't blame her. _Flying is scary. _

Lina was appreciating the gem's power. _With its help, Zel is finally learning to show his emotions--the good ones, I mean. He doesn't need any help to be obnoxious. Too bad we have to give back the gem…or do we? _

Greed warred with common sense. _It'd sure come in handy to make bandits spill their guts about the locations of their stashes…but whoever carried it would be vulnerable to every casual question. _I_ sure don't want to tell my enemies my secrets, and _Gourry's_ hard enough to keep muzzled as it is. _She sighed, feeling the ache of having to let a great opportunity pass her by. _I suppose there's such a thing as too much honesty. _

*

Zelgadis glanced at the young princess next to him. She was no longer blushing, but she had not resumed her former position--she was sitting several feet away from him instead of with her arm around him. It was slightly disturbing for him to realize how much he wanted her to do that…not so much for the physical sensation, which was muted for him anyway, as for the feeling of emotional closeness that the gesture demonstrated.

The young woman had pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, gazing quietly out the window at the late-afternoon sky. She was sitting closer to the front of the ship than he was, and her face and body were outlined by the sun's golden glow, giving her the appearance of an angel. 

She's matured so much since the first time we met--even moreso in the last two months--and yet I want to protect her…from anything that might hurt her. She's brave--a lot braver than a ruler ought to be if they want to live long--compassionate, intelligent, and so full of life. 

For a moment, he watched the edges of her cream-colored cape fluttering gently from the constant breeze in the moving craft, and then turned his gaze back to her face, noting her solemn countenance, her sad eyes… He blinked. _Sad?_

The chimera instantly wondered if she was upset about what had happened earlier. He cleared his throat, and said tentatively, "Amelia?"

"Mm?" She turned to look over her shoulder at him, her expression altering from pensive to questioning. 

"Is…something bothering you? You're unusually quiet."

Instead of answering him, she gave him a wry smile and replied, "That's my line."

Her evasion triggered a red flag. He tensed inwardly as he answered in a correspondingly dry tone, _"I'm _the one who's supposed to be depressed, remember? There can't be two of us aboard."

"Oh, and who says?" she teased. "Are you the captain, then?"

"Yes, I am," he answered haughtily, lifting his nose into the air and looking at her with half-closed eyes. He was relieved to hear her giggle, and continued in his normal voice "…at least for the moment. And _as_ captain I request to be informed when one of my crew members is in distress."

Her smile faltered, and again he caught the shadow behind her blue eyes. "What is it, Amelia?" he asked, his tone concerned.

Her small shoulders lifted and dropped as she sighed heavily. "Well…I keep thinking about those two men. You know."

The men who tried to kill her. Zelgadis nodded silently, willing her to continue.

"I keep remembering what the people from that village said. Everyone knew it was them, but no one could prove it, so they kept getting away with it. So many people got hurt--some of them will never recover from what they did--and the thing that gets me is, there are a lot of men like that still out there, hurting innocent people and getting away with it…" She clenched her fists against her knees, biting her lip, her face contorted in helpless empathy for all the victims of the world. 

The stone man nodded. "And you want to help them. And stop people like the ones who got you."

She nodded miserably. "And I can't. I can't go home and rule Seyrune _and_ fight bad guys, too. I can't do both. It makes me so…angry…sick… I almost wish I didn't have to be Queen someday!"

He felt a tingle of alarm. "But you _must, _Amelia. Seyrune _needs_ you."

She did not answer, turning away to stare again at the sky, her mouth set in an uncharacteristically grim line.

Zelgadis opened his mouth, then closed it. He reached out toward her back, but halfway there his hand stopped, hovered for a moment, then dropped, curling into a fist. He understood her all too clearly. _But it's useless to tell her what she already knows. She knows she's Seyrune's heir and that's that. There's nothing she can do except run away--and I won't let that happen. She feels her duty very strongly--if she _did _leave she'd spend the rest of her life being eaten alive by her own guilt. _

That's why I didn't even want her to consider running away with me… He smiled to himself. _Although I can't say I'm exactly _displeased_ to hear that she would choose me over her kingdom, even if the reason for it is vaguely insulting. _

Hmm. Amelia is motivated by compassion…that's why she said she would choose me; she believes that I 'need her more'. Of course, right now Prince Philionel is strong and healthy--at the moment, her kingdom can_ get along without her, but eventually… _

He gazed at the fine afternoon sky, absently admiring the billowy white clouds as they drifted past the ship's window. The sight never failed to calm him, and his mind began to wander. He found himself imagining Seyrune in the future, after an aging Prince Phil had passed away, leaving no heirs. _If Amelia doesn't take over from her father at some point, and train the next generation to rule wisely, Seyrune will degenerate…and that can't be allowed to happen. The fate of that great city rests in Amelia's hands… _

He gazed at her. She was sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest, with her arms wrapped around them, looking more than ever like a lost little girl. _She looks so small, so helpless…it's hard to believe that someone so fragile-looking can be such a powerful force…and yet, conversely, even the most formidable among us are vulnerable when it comes to matters of the heart. Look at Lina with Gourry. _

He sighed heavily. _I don't like seeing her so upset. I need to convince Amelia that ruling Seyrune is a worthy alternative to traveling around rescuing people. _

Slowly he put out his hand and touched the back of her arm. She turned to look at him, startled, and he said quietly, "Amelia, do you know Seyrune's reputation? 

She looked somewhat surprised, but answered readily, "The white magic capital of--"

"No, not the actual _facts; _I mean…what do people _think _of Seyrune?" 

"……Think of it?" For some reason she looked nonplussed, as if such a question had never occurred to her. 

Perhaps it's because it's her home, someplace too familiar… I suppose most people don't really think about how their homes look unless a stranger is visiting, when you suddenly see familiar things through their eyes… 

He took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts, and smiled warmly at her. "Seyrune is…an ideal. It's a bright, shining city of light and learning, an example for others to follow, a beacon in the dark. I've seen a lot in my travels, and I know. The farther away people live from Seyrune, the more its reputation has elevated to near-heavenly status. People who have visited there are much envied; those who've studied there are highly respected." 

His voice grew more intense. "Seyrune is _also_ a haven for oppressed people--people who are afraid, who are suffering, just like the ones in that village we passed through--the very people you want to help the most. And I know your father is always conducting peace negotiations between conflicting kingdoms, acting as a mediator, helping all those involved to avoid the horrors of war…" 

She was listening, her eyes shimmering, although he could not tell if she was glad or upset with him over his unintended oration. Impulsively he moved toward her across the floor until he was sitting next to her, glancing away for the merest moment to make sure that the ship was flying in the right direction, and then he took her hands in his, holding them gently but firmly as he locked his eyes on hers. 

"Amelia, to the average commoner, Seyrune is…_hope. _And that is why you _must_ become Queen, to maintain Seyrune--the beacon. The light. It's important work, Amelia."

"I know," she sniffed, and he caught the shine of tears in the corners of her eyes. Alarmed, he faltered. _Have I made things worse? _

"You're right." She sighed and smiled a little, to his relief. "I know it is, really… I know one person can't save _everyone, _but…it almost seems easier to be a vigilante. I get to _meet_ the people I help, and see how happy I make them, and have no social status for others to envy…or covet…"

Zelgadis frowned as he caught her reference to her relatives' attempt to usurp the throne from her father. Amelia closed her eyes, and a tear slipped out from one of them. 

Without thinking he moved one of his hands away from hers and reached up to touch her cheek, catching the bead of water before it could travel down her pretty face and mar it with a trail of salt. "That's what happens when you're in a position of power, I'm afraid. You need to be brave, Amelia… You must bear with the assassination attempts, the internal politics, and _worst_ of all--" he let one corner of his mouth rise in a wry grin, raising a stony eyebrow-- "--the _infuriating _social niceties that come with such power…" 

His grin faded as he looked down at her, his large blue-green eyes gazing deeply into hers as he vowed solemnly, "…But I will be with you."

Her sapphire eyes widened, and then her expression softened, her eyes taking on a special luminosity that he knew was for him alone. "Oh, Zelgadis…

Glad to have been able to lift her despondency, he elaborated softly, "As long as my cure works, I will do everything I can to support you, Amelia." 

With a somewhat tremulous laugh, she asked, "How do you always know what to say to make me feel better?" Her affectionate tone warmed him inside, and then he remembered that she had asked this question before. 

This time, however, he had an answer. "Because I love you."

She melted, moving into his embrace, tucking her head under his chin. "Oh, darling…I will never get tired of hearing you say that to me," she murmured against his chest.

He closed his arms around her body, feeling very glad to have her there. "I meant it. I'm only sorry I waited so long to say it."

Neither of them mentioned the one catastrophic hitch which could still bring them all to grief: if the cure _didn't_ work, Zelgadis would still be a chimera, and Amelia might be dead--or insane…

**********************************************************************

****

Author's Notes: 

Fuji the Hobbit asks: 'Hey I was just wondering, do you have the chapters prewritten? And if so to what extent?'  


*chapters 72-77 roughed out, but still need editing, and add-ins. Basically I have the actions, not much of people's feelings or humor bits or physical sensations like sights, sounds or smells added yet. You know, all the good bits. 

  
**From Aina-chan--'**About the recent limey-ness...it would be a good thing if you changed the rating. ' 

* I _do_ change it, on occasion, when I deem the lime-i-ness to be a little stronger than usual. I also try to remember to mark it in 'bold', but I know many people don't really read the top after the first few chapters because they think it's all the same. I _do_ make changes now and then. Chapter 70, for example, was rated **PG-15. **I don't know if '15' is an official rating, but I have two little sisters so I understand that parents don't want young people to get 'ideas'. (Although if they're going to read limes--or lemons--anyway, I'd rather they read mine, which don't just glorify the whole thing and make it sound so irresistible that young people want to go out and try it with just anybody. Intimacy is special and can be shown in many ways--look at the differences in the ways Zel and Ame show their love, as opposed to Lina and Gourry. It doesn't always have to be about sex.)  
  
**DarkAngel-Ahria comments**--'I like the way you wrote the lime scene because it was practical (not super glorified like a romance novel) and realistic.' 

  
* In the Chinese Zodiac I'm the Ox. We're practical. Also cautious, patient, and intellectual, and have a hard time showing affection, either verbally or physically. (I wonder if Zel is an Ox?) 

I also try to include some humor during romantic scenes--it _is_ a Slayers fic, after all. ^__^

  
**jadz_i_ka says: **'I really can't explain why but I rather liked when Ameria didn't knew about Zelgadiss' feelings. It's just so odd! almost 70 chapters were about Zels secret feelings, and one day snap,they're a super loving pair! I'm still not used to it…'   


*One of the reasons romance stories are so popular is the whole '_we_ know you love him/her but _he/she _doesn't!' We're in on the secret. Plus, it's so _cute_ to watch people in the early stages of love, with all the stuttering and blushing… Zel's not used to the changes in the relationship yet either. ^__^ He finds it difficult to remember that he is able to show his feelings now, and doesn't really know how. He still unconsciously expects to be rejected…he thinks about saying or doing something romantic but then doesn't do it.

I know some people are a bit uncomfortable reading about intimate scenes involving the Slayers. I completely understand--I'm not a touchy-feely person myself. 'The Slayers' is most definitely _not_ an intimate sort of show, except for the single really romantic kiss Lina and Gourry shared (but since they lost their memories of it nothing changed). When I watch the series even _I_ have a hard time picturing some of the characters being intimate, but then, that's why my fic ended up being so long--love had to come first. Then I had to get everybody to _acknowledge_ it (the hardest part--to come to terms with denied feelings) and _then_ the first tentative steps toward being intimate could begin. 

I can imagine myself in their shoes, though. When you know somebody you care about loves you back, there's a feeling that comes over you…sort of like your 'personal space' barrier goes away when you're near them, and you feel like they won't mind if you want to hold their hand or sit so that your bodies are touching or whatever. I always want to pat people's hair, like they're a dog or something. ( I don't actually do it; I just want to ^__^ ) 

I'm actually encouraged by the feedback, though. Even people who generally don't like limes still want to read on, so my particular lime-writing style must be tolerable, at least. You know what? The funny thing about limes is…when I first started writing lime bits, it was really hard, but as I got used to it I found it more natural to think of the Slayers being intimate. I think it's the kind of change that's really momentous at first, but then, as humans do, we gradually get used to it, and after a while we forget that things were ever any different. 


	72. Chapter 72: Renaissance of a Chimera , ...

****

Only Stone on the Outside 

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG-13 for minor swearing and lime-i-ness

Note: renaissance: a rebirth (or rejuvenation, in Zel's case) 

Chapter Seventy-Two: Renaissance of a Chimera; Dreams

The princess and the chimera sat together in front of the Woodwind's window, holding one another, drawing comfort from each other's nearness. Neither of them mentioned the one catastrophic hitch which could still bring them all to grief: if the cure _didn't_ work, Zelgadis would still be a chimera, and Amelia might be dead--or insane…

Amelia tried not to think about it, opting instead to concentrate on Zelgadis, on his chest rising and falling under her cheek, on the way his breath ruffled her hair, on the exact places his arms held her, warm and supportive if not exactly soft. The mid-afternoon sun felt good on her back. She felt herself relaxing under its soothing heat, her mind drifting. 

Several minutes later Amelia yawned, which Zelgadis sensed was a sign that she was finally relaxing from her emotional distress, and then she yawned again. "Excuse me," she murmured.

"That's all right." He paused reluctantly, and then made himself say, "Why don't you go get some rest?"

She made a small noise of protest. "I'd rather stay here with you," the young princess said in a drowsy voice. 

He felt a thrill of gladness run through him, and said no more. 

A vibrant beam of sunlight bathed them in its warm radiance, turning the pair into a glimmering golden sculpture, a portrait, an icon, the epitome of two people in love. Zelgadis closed his eyes and realized that he could feel the sun's heat through his thin stone eyelids, and a rare smile of serenity slowly appeared on his lips. _I treasure times like these, when Amelia and I can spend quiet time together, just the two of us… _

"You're so warm, Zelgadis…" Amelia murmured, relaxing even further, leaning most of her weight against his chest. Slightly startled, he reached back and set his free hand behind him on the wooden floor to better brace himself so that he could lean back a little, cradling her against him with his other arm wrapped around her waist. 

"Y'r so wonderf'll …know y'll…ne'er let me fall…" She was nearly asleep now. "When this s'ov'r…will you…t'ch me…sword…

The stone man held her close to him for a while, gazing affectionately down at her slumbering form, not wanting to move and perhaps wake her. _Come on, Zelgadis, _the cynical part of him teased, _You just like holding her. You like feeling close to someone…_

One corner of the chimera's mouth turned up in silent admission to the internal accusation, but he waited until he was sure she was deeply asleep before he began to move. Carefully he shifted her in his arms until he was holding her under the back and knees with her head still resting on his chest, while simultaneously slowing the Woodwind until it was stopped. _It's almost time for Lina's shift, anyway._

He waited until he could hear Lina's familiar booted steps, then brought his legs under him and pushed crossways, rising gracefully to his feet. 

The curtain parted. "Hey, is everything--Amelia?" Lina came forward, her face concerned. 

"She's asleep," he said in a low tone. "Take over, okay? I'm going to put her to bed."

"Uh, yeah, sure…" Lina gave him an intense look, as if she was dying to ask him what the young princess might have been doing with him that would tire her out, and he scowled, his peaceful mood ruined. 

"Get your mind out of the stable, Lina. Nothing happened." He turned away, and muttered in a somewhat bitter tone, "Nothing _could."_

As he walked through the curtain, his sensitive ears caught a sympathetic murmur from the red-haired sorceress. "Oh, Zel."

Part of the side curtains in the supply area had been tied back, so that daylight showed through the sides in long, thin triangles. Gourry was rummaging through one of the food bags. He glanced up as Zelgadis entered, and the chimera braced himself for a comment about the awkward situation which the man had witnessed earlier between himself and Amelia, but the swordman's only utterance was: "Hey, cute hairdo."

Surprised, Zelgadis glanced down at the girl in his arms, noticing anew the perky topknot which he himself had tied with a pretty white ribbon. Gourry took a double handful of dried fruit from the bag and stood up, nodding cheerfully at the chimera as he left the little area. Zelgadis listened as the swordsman offered Lina some of the fruit, and heard her enthusiastic acceptance. 

The stone man tuned them out, and took a step toward Sunshine's stall, but then he noticed something. _Our supplies are half gone now. I think Amelia might sleep better here, where she'll have room to stretch out. _One side of his mouth twitched in amusement as he knelt to lay the young princess down lengthwise in front of the stall, pillowing her head on one of the packs. _Not to mention the lack of horse droppings._

He made sure her limbs and body were arranged in comfortable positions and then sat down close enough so that he could reach out and stop her if she began to roll toward one of the 'doors' in her sleep. He breathed in deeply, and then slowly exhaled, feeling himself relax, enjoying her company even while she slept, drawing a deep sense of comfort from the fact that she preferred to be near him. 

The ship began to move, and the breeze began to come in through the gaps around the curtains, causing the heavy material to flap and rustle; a comforting sound to which they had all become accustomed. After a while the small girl curled up on her side, and he wondered if she was getting chilly, so he removed his light blue cape and tucked it around her. 

He gazed down at her childlike sleeping form with the silly but adorable topknot of sleek dark hair, and realized that he recognized the white ribbon. It had been a decoration on the pink gown that he had been forced to wear during the humiliating 'rescue' of his friends from Ponmar's cavern. 

That's where she told me she loved me. His eyes unfocused as he reminisced. _It feels like it happened so long ago, but it's only been, what, a little over a week? So much has changed--the course of my entire life!--and a chance at happiness that I never believed would happen…_

Some of Amelia's hair drifted over her face. Zelgadis admired the wanton effect for moment, then reached down to brush the hair away, allowing his stone fingertips to caress her smooth cheek. Amelia made a small, contented noise in her sleep and he smiled tenderly down at her, his silvery hair shining in the soft light. 

*

Amelia woke less than an hour later. For an instant she lay still, realizing almost immediately from the sound and feel of the wind that she was still on the ship, but not remembering why she was lying on the floor. _I think…I was in the middle of a dream. A very interesting dream… …important…… Zelgadis?_

She opened her eyes and forgot about the dream as her gaze fell on a certain slender chimera, who was sitting nearby staring thoughtfully off into the distance, the side of his index finger pressed against his chin. It was still daylight out, but the little area was getting dim, and she realized that she was hungry. _It must be nearly dinnertime, then. _

She felt the urge to stretch, to ease the kinks caused by the unevenly constructed wooden floor, but for the moment she resisted, wanting to take advantage of the chance to contemplate her chimera without him seeing her. She let her eyes roam over his handsome, almost delicate features, his shining silver-blue hair, his narrow shoulders, lean body and strong slim limbs, clad in the clothing that she herself had chosen for him oh-so-carefully. 

__

And under the clothes… She blushed a little at the direction her thoughts were taking. _He's even more beautiful. I don't even mind the extra stones…they keep him from being a little too perfect, I guess. _

Just then Zelgadis looked toward her, and their gazes met. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks, wondering if he had somehow sensed her thoughts, and then tried to sit up--only to discover that she was wrapped in something--something that turned out to be his cape! _I hadn't even realized he wasn't wearing it…but maybe that's why I noticed his body right away, with no cape to cover it…_

"Thank you," she said aloud as she disentangled herself from the sheet of light blue cloth and handed it back to him. 

"You're welcome. Did you sleep well?" Zelgadis asked, accepting the cape and giving her a warm, relaxed smile.

"Mm," she agreed, nodding once. 

"I wasn't sure if you were cold or not," the chimera explained matter-of-factly as he donned his cape.

She nodded in understanding, pleased that he had been so thoughtful. "Thank you," she repeated. "Is it dusk yet?"

"Not yet. I'd say we have at least an hour or so before it gets too dark to see."

"Oh." Her belly protested, so she reached into one of the food bags and pulled out a few pieces of dried fruit to appease it until dinner, popping them into her mouth. Sunshine whickered above her, and she looked up to see the friendly mare reaching over the stall wall, asking for attention. 

The young princess obliged, standing up and reaching for the horse's velvety-soft nose, stroking the long white stripe that ran from her forehead to her nose. "Hello to you, too, Sunny." The mare rubbed the side of her head against Amelia's chest, and the girl laughed. "Itchy, are you?" She looked at Zelgadis. "Do you know if anyone's brushed her today?"

"I don't think so," he answered after a brief pause. 

Soon the two of them were occupied with the pleasant task of grooming the gentle mare and the affectionate dragonwolf, who had appeared as soon as the pack with the brushes was opened, her pink tongue lolling happily. Zelgadis finished working on Shiran first and rose with his customary grace to help Amelia finish with Sunshine before the light faded. 

After a few minutes, he noticed that Amelia was acting oddly. She was on the opposite side of the mare, and every time he looked at her she ducked down or turned her face away. His stone eyebrow quirked. _What's with her? _

He began to try to make eye contact, growing concerned that she was upset with him about something, but when she repeatedly began to peek out at him from behind Sunshine's chest or tail, grinning and not looking the least bit upset, it suddenly hit him. _It's a game. _

"I see you," he said in a solemn tone, letting a corner of his lips twitch. 

She let out a tiny 'eep' noise and ducked away, only to reappear at Sunshine's other end. He waited until he saw a blue eye emerge, and then fixed her with a sharp glare, trying to keep from smiling. "There!"

She ducked out of sight, and he waited. The mare shifted her hooves, and as he looked down he saw a head of dark hair moving under the mare's belly. This time he reached down and flicked the girl's topknot. "Gotcha!"

"Eek!" She was gone again, but he heard her giggling. "Can't catch me!" 

"Oh, no?" He knew a challenge when he heard it. "Just watch me!"

Before he knew it, he was chasing her around the tolerant golden horse, dodging Shiran, who wanted to be in on the fun, almost slipping on loose hay, laughing at the way Amelia squealed in delight every time he 'missed' her. _I can't remember the last time I did something so foolish, so infantile…and it's fun! _

He watched his princess, seeing her as if she were moving in slow motion: her laughing eyes, her bouncing topknot--as well as other things that bounced in the most fascinating ways--as she bounded here and there, taking high, prancing steps that showed off her shapely legs.

"Hey, what are you guys _doing_ back there--having a war?" came the outraged bellow of a certain red-haired sorceress. "Some of us are trying to concentrate!"

The two rompers skidded to a halt on the loose hay, giving each other guilty grins. "Sorry, Miss Lina," Amelia called, looking not the least bit contrite. She looked up at Zelgadis and added, "I guess we have to finish the game…" She hesitated, then added softly, "This is how it would have ended." 

She closed the distance between them, making the chimera stiffen in surprise as she reached out and slid her arms around his waist, slowly pulling him toward her until their bodies touched. Her brilliant sapphire eyes looked lovingly up into his as she murmured, "You caught me."

Zelgadis should have been getting used to these sudden displays of affection by now, but for a long moment he could only stand frozen, his mouth open, staring straight ahead above her head, his eyes shimmering. 

Yet the feeling of the young woman hugging him was not as alien as it had once been, so it wasn't long before his paralysis wore off and he was able to respond, tenderly wrapping his arms around her, holding her close, his head bowed over hers. 

Shiran gave the embracing couple a glance, then sat down in front of Sunshine, panting happily from the game. She knew that her bonded ones were not likely to be doing any more romping any time soon. 

Zelgadis mused, _I haven't acted so childish since… since my cousin Rin and I played with wooden swords when we were boys. I was different then…no one would have used the words 'cold' or 'heartless' to describe me. 'Hot-headed' and 'passionate' would have been better. _

After the drastic change in his human status, Zelgadis had learned both the consequences of making rash decisions, and that he needed to learn control over himself. Spontaneity had gradually given way to planned words and deeds; his youth had been traded irrevocably for maturity.

__

Or so I thought. But somehow when I'm alone together with Amelia, much of my control, my dignity, just…goes away. It's like she brought a part of me back to life, a part I'd thought long dead. Maybe because I sense that no matter what I say or do, she won't condemn me for it, or laugh at me…except to share my happiness. 

Happiness…such a rare emotion, so fleeting… And yet, for someone like Amelia, happiness is a part of her everyday life, touching all of those around her. But now that I've accepted the gift of her love, what happens if something goes wrong and I lose it all? The constant undercurrent of anxiety was always there; he always had to be on guard. Too many things had happened in his life to ever lose that fear completely…but when he was with Amelia, he came close. 

Amelia was a little surprised at her own boldness, but then, she had never been shy about showing affection to those she loved. She had been raised that way. Besides, seeing Zelgadis all happy and having fun had lowered the barriers between them even further, so that she had embraced him with barely a thought of rejection. She laid her head against the chimera's shoulder and said softly, "I really love it when you laugh. You never used to."

Zelgadis smiled warmly down at her and teased, "It's your bad influence. It's corrupting me."

She lifted her head to look up at him, and he chuckled softly at the astonished look on her face, a look that quickly transformed into a pleased smile. "Zelgadis Greywyrs, was that a _joke?" _

Somehow her delight at his display of humor made him blush as he nodded, curiously proud of himself.He marveled at the playfulness that seemed to rise up from wherever it had been buried inside of him when he and Amelia were alone together. _I never feel like this with anyone else. It reminds me of the kind of joy a young child feels--to be wholly, completely happy…_

How lucky he was that this wonderful girl had come into his life!

*

The silvery light of the half-moon vied with the dull red glow of the banked campfire, overshadowing it for the most part, filling the small clearing with an extraordinary surreal ambiance of which the very air itself seemed to hold special promise. Four sleepers stirred, their souls roaming the realm of dreams… 

Gourry Gabriev wore a peaceful smile as he dreamed of digging into a cake as big as a castle. He discovered an even better treasure inside: an impish young red-haired lass wearing an outfit made of delicious fruits who teased him about which fruit he ought to nibble at first! 

Lina Inverse lay next to the swordsman, her head filled with images of a certain blonde-haired man. He was wearing magnificent clothes--clothes suitable for a prince--and riding a superb white stallion. The man rode into her village, gazing out over the hordes of young girls who had come out to greet him, and reined in his horse, pointing straight at Peasant Lina. She put her hands modestly to her rosy cheeks, gazing back at the prince's lovestruck expression.

The petite sorceress beamed happily in her sleep as the dream version of Prince Gourry rode through the crowd of girls and leaned down toward her, holding out his hand with a hopeful smile…

Zelgadis Greywyrs was also dreaming, a dream that had become as familiar as his old Rezo nightmare--but was infinitely more welcome. He always began this dream underwater, with the cold dark pressure of the sea crushing the life out of him. The terrible darkness was as much from within as without, comprised of despair, self-dislike and loneliness, but it only lasted a moment. 

Almost instantly the darkness was replaced by a warm, beloved rose-colored light that led him up out of the dark abyss, cocooning him in a softly glowing cloud of hope, warmth and love. Other lights appeared, bright spheres of red, yellow-gold, royal blue, lavender and more--colors that he somehow knew represented his friends and everyone else who saw him as a worthy person.

There were many more than he would have believed, many whom he could not quite identify, but he did recognize several from Shiran's old town--Rilloban, Sanre and Kembri among them. 

It always occurred to him then that one of the main reasons that he kept company with the short-fused, high-handed sorceress and the friendly-but-totally-inadequate-for-deep-thought-conversations swordsman was that when he was with them, he felt good about himself. Even when they weren't on a mission to save the world, he felt wanted, accepted, part of the group. His existence was justified. 

And now, with Amelia, his sense of self-worth had soared. The Seyrune princess, who could have had any man she wanted, had gone to tremendous lengths to win _his_ love. She had organized a concentrated effort to research his cure, had facilitated his search in every way she could, and always, always she had given him her full support, shoring up his emotional insecurities with a smile or a hug. 

Zelgadis drifted in her lovelight, content.

Amelia wil Tesla Seyrune was doing something rather unusual for her--she was frowning in her sleep. A puzzled frown, to be exact. 

Her dream was far more elaborate than any of the others'. She seemed to be holding the ward bracelets--both of them--in front of her, but the bands were yellow and blue instead of the familiar pink-and-purple combination. The room that she appeared to be in was somewhat dark, but still, the wards' shapes were unmistakable…

Wait a minute--where are the stars? There should be stars engraved on them. 

She tried to turn them over to look on the backs, but to her surprise, her hands would not move. _What's going on? _She tried to gasp in alarm, but again her body refused to respond, continuing to breathe at an even pace. 

Where am I? Where is everyone? Zelgadis? she tried to ask, but heard only her own thoughts.

Then her hands did move, seemingly of their own volition, slowly turning the dark-blue metal spheres. Amelia distractedly noticed that the familiar stars were absent. 

"Perfect."

Who said that? Was that…me? 

********************************************************************

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Author's Notes:

tbiris asks: so he's going to let her do the spell then?

* Oh, he still doesn't want her to, but with all the peer pressure he's getting he's beginning to wonder. Everybody keeps saying he's making a huge fuss over nothing.  
  
**Earth Star says: **I was born in the year of the rat! ^_^ I wonder which animal would fit Amelia's personality?

* Hmm. Good question. Amelia is most likely either a Dragon or a Boar, Lina is either a Tiger or a Dragon, and Gourry is almost certainly a Dog.  
  
**Zaber--**To upload a story with italics, you have to save it as an HTML file. If you use Microsoft Word or Works, when you save the chapter click on 'File', then 'Save As', then go to the 'Save As Type' and choose HTML. I always save two versions, the regular and the HTML version (which I add the word 'online' to ) because if I try to read the HTML version it looks weird, all the colors and the fonts are wrong, but for some reason it comes out fine on the FF.net site.   


TRAVEL ITINERARY:

To help me plan everything, I had to make up a list of places our intrepid travelers have been, and where they still need to go, and it occurred to me that some of you might like a little mini-walk down memory lane….

BEFORE THIS STORY OFFICIALLY BEGINS: Zelgadis travels for ten months, alone, after he parts ways from the group after the events in Try. Lina, Gourry and Amelia begin searching for a cure sometime during this period.

THE BEGINNING: Zelgadis gets a letter from Amelia, returns to the palace of Seyrune and is unknowingly smitten by her. Amelia gives him the Journal, and takes him on an ill-fated date, but she still manages to gain some ground in the romance department with him. Zel has a dream about Amelia being married to a man whose face he can't make out. Lina and Gourry arrive, and Amelia presents Zel with the guiolin, her ward bracelet and her heart (though he isn't ready to accept that last one just yet…) Zel & Co. depart, Amelia remains behind in Seyrune. Except for a visit from Xellos, the three friends have a fairly uneventful sea voyage, until… 

HALFWAY THROUGH WEEK 2: They encounter the sea dragon.. Zelgadis nearly drowns. Amelia meets Kerrin, and learns what her ward bracelets are for. The group lands on shore. Amelia proposes to Kerrin, and departs to meet up with her friends. She also gets her period somewhere around this time. 

HALFWAY THROUGH WEEK 3: Lina gets her period; the three travelers encounter the Oracle, through whom each of them learns that someone loves them. Xellos gets to be a pancake; Gourry gets a free show, (yes, that means he saw Lina naked without getting pounded for it) plus a chance to demonstrate an unexpected singing talent. Zel is sort of a walking zombie when he comes out, his mind in turmoil. 

WEEK 4: Amelia arrives in Tollik, is attacked by leapers, and Gallant the Horse dies. She meets Ril and Shiran. Zel breaks out of his stupor when his ward bracelet signals Amelia's imminent death, and decides to be noble and stay a chimera for her own good.

WEEK 5: Both groups are reunited! Lina and Gourry are kidnapped. Zel and Amelia (and Shiran) bond while they search for their friends, while Lina and Gourry have some time to themselves in Ponmar's cave. Lina proposes and Gourry accepts. Yay! 

HALFWAY THROUGH WEEK 5: Rescue is successful! And we got to see Zel crossdress again… ^__^ Amelia confesses her love to Zelgadis in front of witnesses, and eventually gets him to agree to wait to give her his answer until he's 'had time to think about it'.

WEEK 6: Return to Tollik. Amelia buys Sunshine and a cute souvenir stone swordsman (try saying _that_ three times fast!) and befriends Kembri, but seeds of dissention and mistrust have been sown between her and Zelgadis when he learns she has a fiance already. Lina gets to kiss Gourry some more, and snubs Zelgadis. 

DURING WEEK 6: The infamous Inn Scene, as I've been calling it since I woke up from a dream and wrote it down around a year and a half ago, when I was still writing somewhere around chapter 30. Originally Amelia was simply going to get hurt while breaking up a bar fight, but several plot elements that developed since the time I first thought of this _drastically_ expanded this entire story segment to include the 'Amelia trying to prove she's not a child', 'sleeping together', and 'saw you naked' scenes between Zel and Amelia, as well as the introduction of Xellos' gem, both as a means of transportation and as a catalyst for some serious changes in the status quo between our two main protagonists. Amelia gets her period, although it is shortened in duration due to losing blood from a mortal wound, and the Woodwind launches on its maiden flight. Lina uses the gem to force Zel to confess, and both couples become more intimate…


	73. Chapter 73: The Origin of the Ward Brac...

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Only Stone on the Outside 

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG-13 for minor swearing and lime-i-ness

Note: I've used some old-fashioned language in one of the scenes in this chapter. I got most of the idea from Piers Anthony's Apprentice Adept series--one of my favorites--but I know some of the grammar isn't quite right. Still, since this is a Slayers world, I'd say that their archaic language would be somewhat different than ours, anyway. 

ne'er-- 'never'

spake-- 'spoke'

ken-- 'know' or 'learn'

Doth or doth be-- 'is' or 'do be'

wi'-- 'with'

wouldst-- 'would'

o'-- 'of'

'gain-- 'again'

guise-- 'appearance'

"I choose men by their guise, all tell me."-- "Everybody says I pick men by their looks."

e'er-- 'ever'

aye-- 'yes' or 'right' or some kind of agreement

thou'rt-- 'you are'

an-- 'if'

mayhap-- 'maybe' or 'perhaps'

I got the name 'Mellesande' from the awesome movie 'The Flight of Dragons'. Pronounced 'Mel-eh-SAHND, with the first two 'e's as in 'elf' and the last one silent.

Gaderi-- GAH-d'ree

Figranel-- FIG-rah-nell 

Chapter Seventy-Three: The Origin of the Ward Bracelets 

Where am I? Where is everyone? Zelgadis? Amelia tried to ask, but heard only her own thoughts.

Then her hands did move, seemingly of their own volition, slowly turning the dark-blue metal spheres. Amelia distractedly noticed that the familiar stars were absent. 

"Excellent."

Who said that? Was that…me? 

"Finally, all but done," Amelia heard herself say. "Ne'er again must I needs worry 'bout a scoundrel deceiving me! _Figranel_…the cad! 'His heart be mine', so he spake, and ne'er wouldst I have ken'd o' the other female if not for Gaderi! Ooo, Papa doth be angry!"

The girl's voice laughed triumphantly. It was a somewhat higher voice than Amelia's, now that she thought to notice, and the hands in front of her were not her hands, either. The dimness of the room had kept her from noticing immediately that the skin color was a few shades darker, the nails were cut even shorter than Amelia kept hers for traveling, and there was a small scar on the left thumb that Amelia knew she did not have. They were heavily calloused as well. 

Amelia was starting to suspect what was going on. _I'm in someone else's body? Am I a ghost, possessing her? But I don't remember dying…and that wouldn't explain what I'm doing with these bracelets, anyway. They look so much like mine… and why does she speak so oddly? _

"Off Papa went wi' a troupe o' guards-- Poor ol' Figgy--it be a thrashing he'll ne'er forget, I say. And ne'er will he show hisface in Seyrune 'gain!" The girl's voice had a righteous, satisfied tone now, one that sounded vaguely familiar to Amelia, although her friends would have recognized it right away as Amelia's 'justice' tone. 

It was a long time before the girl spoke again. _I wish I could tell what she's thinking, _Amelia said to herself. _I wish I could _talk _to her, to let her know I'm here!_

Eventually the girl said quietly, "In truth, part o' the fault may be mine."

Huh?

The girl answered Amelia's unspoken question. "I choose men by their guise, all tell me. Surely not, I say… and yet, none have e'er stayed wi' me. None truly wanted me, only the power I may bring as one o' the Seyrune princesses!" The girl sounded as if she were close to bursting into tears. 

What? Amelia was stunned. _Princes_ses? _Of Seyrune? But that's _my_ job! …Or is it? She speaks so archaically…almost as if I' d somehow slipped into the past or something… Is that possible? _

The hands in front of her closed tightly over the small metal spheres and held them to her chest, and the girl's voice had a hint of a quaver in it. "'Love doth be blind', aye? Him that I wouldst pass by for lack of a pleasing guise may in truth be the one destined to stand by my side! All tell me, 'Thou'rt too young', and 'The time to choose be long and away.' Yet _now _be the time I doth want love!" The girl's voice became somewhat petulant. 

It occurred to Amelia that the girl sounded rather young. _Maybe thirteen or fourteen… Hey, that's about the same age I was when I first began traveling with Miss Lina's group. I met Zelgadis then…and things didn't get off to a good start between us. I was a lot more childish then. It took a long time for me to grow up--and it _sure_ took a long time for us to realize that we loved each other…_ She smiled mentally. _But I wouldn't trade him now for the world. _

"Why must I wait years for the right man?" the girl continued longingly, "He be out there somewhere _now, _aye? Must needs I wait for my beloved if in truth I possess the means to find him now?"  


__

What? Amelia listened closely.

"So, these bracelets will I enchant to bring us together. A man who doth love me for _me,_ not for the crown nor the power I may bring."

Can she really do that? For a moment Amelia was fascinated, but then something that had been drilled into her head all her life came back to her. _But she's the princess. What if the man the bracelets choose is a bad ruler? The kind of man a fourteen-year-old thinks is perfect might be someone who only cares about _her_ and not the kingdom. I was always told to choose my husband wisely so that my people wouldn't suffer. _

The girl walked toward a diagram drawn on the stone floor of the dark room. From the glimpses Amelia caught of the surrounding room, it appeared that she was in some kind of underground storage area. Several candles were arranged in some kind of pattern around her, their golden pinpoints the only source of light in the room. 

And besides, three years ago when I met Zelgadis, he was so different. He was so…cold, as if he'd forgotten how to care. I've watched him heal over the years… First we were comrades-in-arms, then friends, and when love finally grew between us he tried to deny it, even to himself, even though doing so actually proved _how much he loved me, because he was doing it out of concern for my safety. He was willing to sacrifice his cure for me…_

As Amelia felt the girl's arms lift into the air, she shouted desperately, _Listen to me, Princess! The man who's right for you has to care about more than just _you! _He has to be a good ruler, a _just_ ruler! Someone who will lead Seyrune into a bright future! Please, think about what you're doing!_

Amelia felt the girl hesitate, as if having second thoughts. _That's right, Princess! The man for you may not be the same now as he will be in the years to come--trust me--I know! And you will need someone who will love the person _you_ become, because you too will change as the years pass…_

"Mellesande!" came an irate female voice from what sounded like the room overhead. Amelia felt the girl jump as the other voice called, "Where be ye? The feast be soon!"

"Damn!" the girl swore. "Must needs I finish this spell 'fore they find me. My second sister will ne'er forgive me an I miss her wedding!" 

The girl stood for a moment longer, then raised her arms again and began to chant some words in a language that Amelia recognized--vaguely. She felt a thrill of excitement. _Is that the ancient language of holy magic that we've lost? _She tried to remember the words, but Mellesande spoke so fast that they all ran together, and little by little Amelia's enthusiasm died. _Oh, I can't make out what she's saying! In my time only Filia and maybe some other dragons can do any of the really powerful holy magic. I should ask Filia to teach me--if this girl can do it, so can I! Now that the barrier's gone…_

She listened to the tone of the words, rather than trying to make out their meaning. Sometimes it sounded plaintive, sometimes almost conversational, and sometimes commanding. _I hope she's being careful. _

Amelia became aware that the girl's body was beginning to shake, sweating heavily. _This is really hard for her. Maybe it's too hard for a human to cast holy magic--I wonder if in this time the Barrier exists yet? If it does, then the fact that she can cast this spell at _all_ means that she must be an incredibly powerful sorceress._

Amelia suddenly caught a word that she remembered from one of her magic lessons. _That's an old, old word for 'Golden Dragon', isn't it? I was taught our history, but to many people, Golden Dragons are a myth. From what I remember, Golden Dragons were once very close allies with humans--at least, with the people of Seyrune. Then after the Barrier was cast upon us, they began to have less and less to do with the human world. Hmm… Maybe she's friends with someone from the Golden Dragon clan--someone who gave her some help to do this spell even _with_ the Barrier?_

Mellesande's voice rose into an extraordinary, passionate crescendo, and as she cried the ancient

words, the power in her tone was so phenomenal that Amelia thought in awe, _This girl will be a woman to reckon with someday!_

In a final, vibrant burst, Mellesande finished her breathtaking oration and then suddenly dropped heavily to her knees, her head bowed, breathing deeply. Amelia watched through her eyes as the twin metal spheres cradled loosely in the girl's hands began to glow. At first the radiance was solid brilliant white light, and then it narrowed, taking on the shape of a familiar pattern. _The stars…_

For several minutes Mellesande did not move, obviously recovering her energy after such an ordeal. Amelia mused, _It looks like I was right. Holy magic is much more draining on its casters…although I wonder if it's because of the Barrier? Maybe the power that would normally have come from Cephied-sama came from Mellesande instead? That's dangerous--humans don't have that kind of power in themselves; that's why most of our magic is done by calling upon other sources. She must be a _very_ powerful sorceress._

Eventually the girl staggered to her feet, clutching the spheres to a bosom that was much smaller than Amelia's own, on a par with Lina's. "It be done," she said, her voice full of weary relief. "Mayhap that be the last holy magic I shall e'er cast…but the spell will endure for centuries. More than I shall find lifelong happiness, that they will." 

I have, Mellesande, I have. Even though I met Zelgadis before I started wearing them, maybe they helped me to see the good qualities in him that weren't so obvious back then. 

Mellesande bent over to brush the worst of the grit from the floor off of her skirt, explaining to her unknown visitor, "The Star Spheres shall do more than simply find their wearer a mate. For me--no longer care I 'bout his guise. To all who see him he may be as a beast, but what be important to me be his heart. He must be fit to rule, a good man, a man who be strong and wise and just…" 

Good girl, Mellesande! Amelia would have beamed with delight, if she could have.

"A man with the nature of a king--though rule he will not, methinks. Eight older siblings be 'tween me and the throne--and welcome to it!" Amelia heard Mellesande chuckle. "In truth, I would choose to travel the countryside, aiding the people with the skills I learned from our Dragon brothers."

I was right! She must have learned healing magic from the Golden Dragons--and a lot of other holy magic besides.

"Times be dangerous, now, with the accursed Barrier in place… More and more mazoku and other filthy night creatures lurk the lands, preying on the helpless, so the Spheres shall also serve as a beacon. They shall bond their wearers; thus we be together e'en when we be apart; an peril finds one, the other shall be warned, and can act swiftly to save their beloved."

Amelia suddenly recalled the way the wards' light had guided Lina to Zelgadis when he was drowning, and how she herself might have died from the vicious stabbing she'd received not too long ago if the wards hadn't made Zelgadis come running. _Your spell worked, Princess… I only wish I could tell you how grateful I am. _

"Most important, he must make the Sphere-wearer happy, and love me he must, for now and forever."

Amelia was touched. _Oh, Mellesande--that was so beautiful! If I could cry, I would! …She sounds so sad, so lonely. I wonder why? _

Amelia watched through the girl's eyes as Mellesande made her way toward the doorway and stopped to look into a large oval gold-rimmed mirror that hung on the wall. The face that looked back at her was most definitely not her own. Although Mellesande had the deep blue eyes that seemed to run in the Seyrune family, her thick waist-length hair was a rich, dark blue-green color. Amelia mused, _Almost the shade of Zelgadis' eyes. _

Amelia took a good look at the girl's face and realized with a pang that the girl was lucky that she was a princess. _She'll never be very pretty. She's a tall, tough-looking girl, but her chest is no larger than Lina's. She has a strong face, but it's strong the way a man's face is strong, with a big square jaw and heavy bones around the eyes. Her hair is beautiful, though. Maybe if she wore some makeup… _Mentally she shook her head. _Now I know why she wanted to make sure the man loved her for herself. Most girls want to look as pretty as they can to attract a man's interest, so he'll want to get to know her better and she can learn about him at the same time, but I'm sure the only men Mellesande attracts are power-hungry throne-hunters. _

"An I meet someone whom I doth believe may be worthy, I need tell him naught about the Star Spheres." Amelia watched as Mellesande suddenly grinned a naughty-little-girl grin, reminding her inevitably of Lina. "I shall gift him with the Sphere, and gaze upon him as he dons it. An he be worthy, it shall accept him; an he be unacceptable, it shall reject him. His hand will turn troll-green and be slow to fade."

The teal-haired girl snickered.

Amelia tried to suppress her own internal laughter. _Mellesande, that's mean! …But I guess that's one way to single out the unjust. I wish I had a spell like that in _my _time--one that wasn't meant to search for husbands, anyway. Wow, what if the wards--I mean, the Star Spheres--hadn't found Zelgadis worthy? He wouldn't have liked walking around with a green hand! _

Mentally, she snorted in amusement, but then a chill of ice ran down her nonexistent spine as she thought: _What if he hadn't been wearing the Sphere when he was drowning? What if he'd taken the guiolin instead, as I'd planned? He would have died! _

Shaken, she gazed at the girl in the mirror, who was running her fingers through her blue-green hair to get rid of the worst of the snarls, with the tip of her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth. _Thank you, Princess Mellesande. _Thank you_--you have no idea what this spell of your has done--will do--for me._

Suddenly, with a jolt, Amelia opened her eyes and saw dark tree branches and a pale gray sky high above her. _A dream…_

She closed her eyes again. _I've…had that dream before. Yesterday afternoon, I think, when I fell asleep on the Woodwind and Zelgadis and I played a game of tag after I woke up. I'd forgotten about it--I think I woke up before I saw Mellesande in the mirror. _

As her mind began to grow more alert, she realized, _Mellesande…Figranel…Gaderi… I _know_ those names! They were from the journal, the one that led us to the Oracle! Can it truly be that _my_ ward bracelets were made by the very same woman who was engaged to the chimera Gaderi? The chimera who spent _five years _searching for a cure for so that he could marry her? _

Then…was it just a dream, or did I really travel back to the past? At the time, the Barrier had only been in place for about a hundred years, so there were still some few humans with the knowledge of holy magic, even if they weren't as strong as they had once been, so Mellesande could have been one of them. 

I wonder if Gaderi was already a chimera at the time I visited there--I mean, then? Maybe Mellesande never would have bothered to get to know him if not for the spell she cast? 

Why me? Do you suppose there's some kind of connection between us because our situations are so similar, with both of us being in love with chimeras and all? She opened her eyes again, idly noticing that it looked as if it were going to rain soon. The sky was growing darker.

Well, I'm glad she was so careful about what kind of man she wanted the ward--I mean, the Star Spheres to look for. I wonder if somehow she heard what I said--if I was able to influence her? I told her to choose a fiance for her people as well as herself, the way I chose Zelgadis…

__

Fiances… Suddenly she frowned guiltily and sat up, absently adjusting her clothes and fluffing out her hair with her fingers._ Then again, I chose Kerrin without really getting to know him, so maybe I'm not any better than Mellesande. I liked him right away because he looked like Zelgadis, and he seemed to be so friendly and kind, but I don't really know who he is at all. I know he must have at least _some_ good qualities, since the guests for my balls were all chosen carefully by Daddy and his staff, but still… _

Amelia bit her lip, then glanced at Zelgadis, who was sleeping peacefully next to her, and all thoughts of any other fiances left her mind. The Seyrune princess knelt by his side, bending over to look at him, her hands pressed over her heart, her eyes shimmering. _He was meant for me…_

A surge of love rose up inside of her, a great tenderness that was both fierce and gentle, and she felt a powerful urge to reach out and touch him. She wanted to run her fingers through his shining wire hair, to smooth it back from his face so that she could gaze upon his beauty as he slept. _He always looks so different when he's asleep. So peaceful, so content, not guarded or stern or sarcastic…_

She wanted to stroke his face, to lay her head down on his chest to feel him breathing, to hold his hand or maybe take off his boots so that she could tickle his feet. _Oh, right. _Her enthusiasm faded a little. _He probably wouldn't feel much. _She sighed. _I really understand why he would want to be human again, when I think of things like that… _

She watched the faint shadows from the tree branches above them ripple over his face, her thoughts moving forward. _Even if I _was_ allowed to marry him, it would sort of take a lot of the fun out of it, wouldn't it? Especially for him, since his skin isn't as sensitive… _

A shiver ran through her, and she closed her eyes for a moment, partly because of the awful sadness of his current situation, and partly because she'd had a brief, wonderful flash of what the future might hold if his cure was successful, with a fully human Zelgadis who was ready, willing and able to do the kinds of things that married couples did… 

When she opened her eyes again, Zelgadis was looking up at her. Instantly she felt her face grow warm, and she sat back on her heels. For a moment the chimera's face was expressionless, but then he smiled, and Amelia couldn't help beaming back at him even as she put her hands to her hot cheeks in embarrassment. _I wonder if he heard what I was thinking? Since the ward bracelets--I mean, the Star Spheres, do connect us somewhat--_

"Oh!" she exclaimed as the memory of her dream came flooding back.

"What is it?" Zelgadis asked, sitting up. 

"I had this dream…" 

Amelia spent the next few minutes describing her dream--or was it a vision?--to the stone man, and to Lina and Gourry after they woke up.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?" Zelgadis asked.

"M-mm." She shook her head. "It was too real. And when I look at the Spheres I can sense the magic in them, and it's definitely holy magic." 

Lina was intrigued. "Hey, I wonder if they work for anyone?"

Amelia answered thoughtfully, "I don't think so, Miss Lina. Mellesande made them for Seyrune's heirs, to help them choose husbands--or wives, I suppose--who would be both good husbands and good rulers. I think you have to be part of Seyrune's royal family." 

Lina shrugged. "Oh, well. I already found _my_ prince _without_ having to depend on some old heirlooms."

Gourry's eyes widened, and then he smiled at the petite sorceress with such sweetness that Amelia practically melted. "Oh, I'm so _happy_ for both of you!" She found herself blinking back tears of joy. Her voice lifted into her strident speech-making tone. "I _knew _you two were right for each other all along, and now I know for _sure_ that Zelgadis and I were meant to be together as well!"

"Not necessarily." 

"Huh?" Amelia's dismay was echoed in the faces of her friends as all three of them gaped at Zelgadis. "Wh--what do you mean?" 

The chimera's face was solemn, thoughtful. "The ward--excuse me, the Star Spheres--were programmed to identify men with certain characteristics, right? So that means I'm a potential match, that's all. It doesn't mean I'm the only one, or even the best choice."

For a moment they were all speechless. Then, upset, Amelia protested, "But Mellesande said--"

"You never had the chance to use them, since you didn't know how they worked, right?"

"No…"

"Then our future is by no means assured."

Tears stung Amelia's eyes. _Why is he saying such awful things? He sounds like he used to, back in the days when he was so callus of others' feelings. _

Apparently the stone man did notice the distress on her face, for the gentle smile that she so loved returned to his face and he added warmly, "…But I'm honored to have made the cut."

Amelia sighed in relief, and so did Lina, who reached up and bonked him on the head with her gloved fist. "Stupid, don't say things like that! Amelia already chose you--don't talk like there's some other guy!"

Amelia's eyes widened as a chill passed over her. She looked at Zelgadis, easily reading his grave countenance. _Miss Lina doesn't know about that other fiance I have, Kerrin, the one who Zelgadis thinks might force me to marry him because he's my official fiance. _

Just then a light sprinkle began to fall, making clearly audible tapping sounds on the leaves above them. This distracted Lina, who groaned, "Not again!"

Gourry shaded his eyes from the drops as he looked up. "The clouds are awfully dark… I'd say this is gonna be a real downpour. Might even last all day."

Lina let out her breath in exasperation. "We can't afford to keep getting held up every time it decides to rain!"

Amelia had a different reaction. _I'd rather spend the time with Zelgadis, since there's no way of knowing if we'll be able to be together once we get to Seyrune. There's just so many things we aren't sure of, so many things that could go wrong… _Again she traded glances with the stone man, and she could see that his feelings mirrored her own. 

"There's no hurry, Lina," said Zelgadis, confirming her thoughts. Amelia's heart leaped.

Lina blinked. 

The princess gave her chimera her support. "To tell you the truth, this is probably the last time I'll be able to travel for a while… It's like a vacation. I…don't want to hurry, either." She met Zelgadis' gaze, and savored the warmth in his blue-green eyes. 

Lina glanced back and forth between the two as they stood there, lost in each other's gaze. "What's _with_ you guys? Zelgadis, when did you get so blasé about all this? _You_ were the one who said that this isn't a sure thing."

Amelia watched the stone man's expression waver. _Please, don't…_

Slowly, Zelgadis took a deep breath and his features became resolute. "You're right, Lina."

Oh, drat. Amelia scowled. _There goes my 'vacation'!_

*****************************************************************

****

Author's Notes: The 'married by age 17' law was created after Mellesande's time period.

****

LeaMarie F. Rocket-- If you want to print my fic, that's fine. It makes me happy that people like my fic that much. 

I had vacation last week, and managed to do two whole chapters, so I'm on chapter 80 now. Usually it would take me six weeks to do that much! I'm into the home stretch! 

BTW, I'm getting ready to put together a May calendar page. I just got a lovely pic from Beedoo, (THANKS) but there's always room for more! ^__^ 


	74. Chapter 74: High

Only Stone on the Outside 

a Slayers fanfic

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. 

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

PG-15 for minor swearing and lime-i-ness

Note: Ame-- a short version of Amelia's name, pronounced AH-may. Also means 'sweet' or 'sweets' in Japanese. 

Chapter Seventy-Four: High

"But how are we going to fly in this rain?" Gourry asked, looking up through the trees at the light gray sky. "The Woodwind's front window gets so full of water that you can hardly see anything--what if you fly us into another tree, Lina?"

She smacked him. "I didn't fly us into a tree--well, almost, but we missed it, didn't we? And besides…" All of a sudden she turned red, and as everyone looked at her curiously she mumbled, "It's that time of the month again."

Zelgadis tried not to blush, knowing that it was a normal part of life for every woman--indeed, even Amelia went though it, although she was generally more discreet about mentioning it. _Besides, if everything somehow works out and we actually end up getting married, I'll be dealing with such a thing on an intimate basis for a good long time… _

Gourry looked at his blushing comrades and scratched his head. "I _still _don't see what's so embarrassing about it."

Zelgadis' lips twitched as he suffered another rare attack of humor. "You'll find out soon enough, I'm sure," he said, his voice deepening with amusement. 

Lina glared at Zelgadis, but for once didn't let Gourry sidetrack her. "We can't keep getting delayed. We've got only _one _week left, you know? Amelia's birthday is a week from today."

The stone man blinked. "It is?" _My calculations were off, then. I must have missed a day somewhere, probably when I was wandering around in that mental fugue. I thought we had eight days at least. _

"Yeah, you idiot, why do you think I've been bugging you to get your tail moving?" Lina retorted. "This isn't a picnic, you know!"

Zelgadis nodded, giving Amelia a quick, apologetic shrug when he noticed her disgruntled look as she realized that they would not be able to take the day off 'work'. She scowled at him for a few moments, then smiled wryly, forgiving him. 

He returned her smile, then gazed across the clearing at the nearby trees, unconsciously placing the side of his index finger to his chin as he considered the problem ahead of them. _What kind of modifications could we make to the Woodwind to let us fly in the rain?_

The others let him alone. Lina and Amelia each took up their favorite 'thinking' positions while Gourry watched them all for a few moments and then got up to start cooking breakfast before the rain got any heavier. His own thoughts wandered over their dilemma. _I'm not as smart as the others, but it seems to me that if you can't go through an obstacle, then you should go around or over it. That's common sense, right? _"Hey, Lina?"

"Don't bother me right now, Gourry. I'm thinking."

"Sorry." He was quiet until he'd finished cooking, and then as the others drifted over and began to absently eat pieces of fish and fruits--except Lina, of course, who snatched a double handful at a time and devoured it enthusiastically--he said, "Hey, guys, remember that time Filia flew us on her back? Remember how high up we were, so high that when we looked down we could see the clouds below us?"

Suddenly he was the object of everyone's intense gaze. "What did you just say, Gourry?" Lina's tone was sharp, but he wasn't sure why.

"Rain comes from clouds, right? So if we go above them, they can't rain on us, right?" He wondered why they were all looking so stunned--it seemed logical enough to him.

"Right," Amelia answered in a surprised tone.

Lina groaned, "I can't believe I didn't _think _of that!" 

Zelgadis nodded wryly. "Never underestimate one's friends." 

Hurriedly they finished eating, wanting to take off before the rain got too heavy for them to navigate through the dense forest. 

Amelia found her thoughts drifting, remembering the time that she had seen Lina and Gourry kissing in Sunshine's stall. _It's not really any more private than any other part of the ship, but when I know our friends are in there and I can't see their heads or hear them talking, I stay away. I think we're all getting like that… I wonder… _Her lips curved in a small, secret smile. _I wonder if Miss Lina and Mister Gourry would stay away if Zelgadis and I did what they do? If we…if we were kissing in the hay? I know he's too self-conscious to ever try to kiss me while he's still a chimera, but I…I don't want to wait. I want him to kiss me. Maybe I'll try it… _

She never got the chance.

* * *

Zelgadis took the first shift. All four travelers plus Shiran gathered in the front section of the Woodwind, watching out the window as the craft rose vertically through the air. The soft patter of raindrops on the heavy cloth covering the central part of the ship served as an intricate counterpoint to the louder drumming on the two wooden roofs at either end. 

All of them noticed that their ears had developed an uncomfortable sensation that went away if they swallowed repeatedly. "It's like being underwater," Lina commented thoughtfully, and then winced, glancing at Zelgadis, who gave her sour look. "Sorry, Zel. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories… But at least there's plenty of air to breathe up here, right?" 

He merely scowled, reducing the Woodwind's upward speed to ease their discomfort, since even his ears were not spared from the odd affliction. After several minutes, stray wisps began to pass by the window, gradually thickening until nothing could be seen except an endless gray void. 

"It's like fog," Gourry commented.

Lina smirked at him from where she was sitting next to him. "It _is _fog, dummy. Fog is made of water vapor, and so are clouds. It's just that people call it 'fog' when it touches the ground." 

"Really? Why?"

"……" Lina got up and headed for the curtain. "Well, never mind that. I'm going to go and make sure Sunshine's okay."

"Wait, I'll go too, Lina…" Gourry's voice faded as he followed her.

Amelia smiled at Zelgadis, who smirked back with raised stone eyebrows, sharing her amusement, but soon he had to break eye contact as the ship began to tilt. "I didn't anticipate this," he murmured.

"Anticipate what?"

"It's difficult to keep the ship level with no visual clues. All I have to go on is my internal orientation--you know, that sense that tells you if you're upside down--even in the dark, or when your eyes are closed."

"Hm." He glanced at her and saw that her eyes were closed. Then she began to lean to one side, her topknot flopping over, and the rest of her midnight hair flowing off of her shoulders to hang loosely as her agile body bent into a graceful arc. She held the position, obviously trying to sense her surroundings for when it would be her turn to fly the Woodwind.

Zelgadis couldn't help admiring her lithe body. He loved to watch her move; right now she looked so graceful, as if she was posing just for him, with one arm stretched out parallel to the ground behind her for balance. He knew that she was probably not thinking about how she looked to an observer, being the innocent girl--young woman--that she was, but all the same, it affected him. 

As the stone man gazed at his love, he thought he saw her moving back into an upright position, but then realized that only her hair was moving--and that he was the cause. The princess' eyes popped open as he immediately shifted the ship so that it was level again. "Amelia, that's it!"

She sat up. "Huh? What's 'it'?"

"Your hair." 

"……" 

He caught her puzzled look. "I can use your hair as a visual cue. When it shifts to one side, I'll know we're not level."

"I see." Amelia was quiet for a moment, then added cheerfully, "Then it's a good thing I don't mind you looking at me." 

"I guess I can't keep my eyes off you." He chuckled quietly. Beside them Shiran wagged her fluffy tail at the happiness in her bonded ones' tones. 

"But I can't promise that your hair is the only thing I'll look at." He winked at her teasingly, making her blush. 

* * *

The layer of clouds that held rain was not all that thick, fortunately; since the everyone except Zelgadis could feel how much colder it was so high above the ground, but at least the sun was shining brightly through the scattered layers of clouds still above them, helping to warm them. 

Amelia clapped her hands. "Look, we can see everything from up here! It all looks so small; it's cute. Go higher!"

"Higher?"

"Yes--please? We didn't exactly get the chance to see much when we were with Miss Filia--she flew so fast."

The chimera shrugged, not particularly caring about the view--the rainclouds below them obscured a large portion of it anyway--but he was willing to please her. "Fine by me." He complied with her request, raising the Woodwind so high that the land was spread out below them like the map that had started them on this quest in the first place, and then set the Woodwind on the usual southwesterly course, using the sun as a guide. 

He concentrated on speed now, worried about having less time than he had thought to complete the journey. _I know in the Woodwind it should only take us about two or three more days, but as Lina said, something could happen. I'm not sure why I've been so placid lately…_

He looked up at Amelia, who was sitting in front of him. She had her legs pulled up with her arms around her knees, and she was gazing at the sun with a peaceful, happy expression, humming a pretty little tune that Zelgadis liked. It was quite different from the 'fight for justice' songs that she usually sang; this tune was meant only to express her happiness.

"It's you," he realized, smiling. 

She turned to him, a puzzled look on her face. "What's me?"

"You're the reason I've become so calm--so blasé, as Lina said. Watching you, I can't help but feel that everything is going to work out right after all."

She melted. "Oh, Zelgadis… That's so sweet! I love you."

The stone man felt a pang in his heart--a good pang. Slowly, he reached out and placed his hand delicately on her cheek, caressing it as gently as he could with his thumb. "Dearest," he said solemnly. _"You're _the sweet one…Ame." 

The young girl blushed to hear herself called 'sweet'. She reached up and pulled his hand from her cheek, moving it toward her lips so that she could kiss it.

Zelgadis was glad to see that she hadn't pulled away as his instincts still kept telling him she would, but he definitely hadn't expected her next move--to kiss his palm, as she had once before. Not that he felt much, but the look in her big shining eyes as she peeked over the edge of his gloved hand was as welcoming as he could ask for.

He smiled. "You're so cute, Amelia," he said, letting his love for her show in the deep, rich tone of his voice. 

After he said it he winced, expecting her to protest the word that she had once said was too 'babyish', but to his surprise she released his hand and grinned at him. "Oh, yeah? 'Cute' how?"

For a moment he was speechless, but then he caught on to her playful frame of mind and smiled back at her. "Well…like your hair. That topknot is cute, especially when it bobs around when you move your head."

She made her head tilt from side to side, letting the dark sheaf of hair dance at him, and giggled. 

His smile widened into a grin. 

"What else?" she asked him.

"You're cute when you smile, and when you laugh. When you're playing with Shiran, or kissing Sunshine on the nose." He was a little surprised at how easily the words came to him, but then, he'd been suppressing how he felt about her for a long time. 

"You're cute when you first wake up, and your hair is all tousled… and you're very cute when you're asleep. I like to watch you sleep," he confessed. "You always look so peaceful." 

That made Amelia laugh, and when he asked her why, she said, "I like to watch you sleep, too! For the same reason."

The merry laughter that they shared was one of a small but growing number of times that Zelgadis had laughed since he'd been turned into a chimera, and he savored every moment of it. 

Neither of them realized that their current giddiness was a symptom of a larger problem. 

* * *

Gourry sat in the hay, watching Lina with Amelia's palomino mare Sunshine. "Sunny's such a nice horse, isn't she, Lina?" Gourry commented, watching his love stroke her hand over the serene mare's golden sides and back, half-wishing that she would do that to him. 

"Yeah, Gourry… I can see why she wanted to take Sunny with us. She's a first-rate riding horse, and so friendly," Lina agreed. Then she put her arms around herself and shivered. "Brr. I didn't know it would get so cold up here."

"Come sit by me," Gourry suggested. "I'm good at keeping you warm."

Yeah, in more ways than one. Lina grinned at him, remembering how he'd kept her warm in Ponmar's cave, and the many other occasions since then that had taught her just how 'warm' he could be. 

She joined her companion in a way that had rapidly become a habit, dropping gracefully sideways onto his lap, her arms around his neck. Eagerly his arms came up to hold her, still carefully touching 'safe' areas, but this time Lina decided to do something about that. She reached over and took hold of one of Gourry's hands from where it rested against her shoulder and moved it downward, placing it firmly on her hip.

The blonde swordsman's sky-blue eyes widened, and he froze. "Uh, Lina?"

"It's okay, Gourry." Lina was mildly surprised to realize that she hadn't a trace of her former fear--only a feeling of security and a yearning to become closer to him. Her voice grew softer, huskier. "I trust you. I know that you'd never hurt me."

"You--you sure about this?" His voice too had dwindled to a mere whisper.

She nodded, and leaned up to kiss him.

* * *

Time passed, and the Woodwind flew on. 

Amelia was laughing at something silly that Zelgadis had said when she sneezed and realized how cold she was. _I'm shivering…_

"Better go put on some warmer clothes. Even _I'm_ startin' to feel the chill," Zelgadis said, slurring his words in a way that she found funny. 

"'Kay," Amelia giggled, and tried to stand up. For some reason the floor refused to stay flat under her feet, and she stumbled. "Hey, keep it level, will ya?"

"It _is_ level," he insisted drunkenly, watching her stand on shaky legs and stagger through the back curtain. In the back of his mind he felt a twinge of alarm at her behavior, but as soon as she disappeared though the curtain he forgot about it, gazing at the white clouds that filled the blue sky, thinking muzzily about how they were always ahead of him, no matter how fast he flew the ship. 

* * *

Amelia dropped heavily to her knees beside the stack of supplies and reached for the nearest pack. As she fumbled with the fastenings, it occurred to her that the bag was unusually difficult to hold onto. "Keeps tryin' to get away," she muttered, ignoring the black spots swimming in front of her eyes. "Come on, you stupid thing, open! I'm freez'n…"

Then her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed over the pack. 

* * *

Lina had to break off kissing Gourry to catch her breath. He too was panting, although that wasn't exactly unusual, considering their situation, but the exciting tingly feelings that she normally looked forward to weren't there. _I feel strange…really tired. At a time like this I ought to be thinking about how his hands feel, but it's all I can do to keep my eyes open. _

She felt a flicker of alarm. _Something's wrong. We just got up--it's not time to sleep yet!_

"Gourry--" She turned her face up toward the swordsman's and got another shock when she realized that not only were his eyes closed, his lips were turning blue! "Gourry!"

She shook him, or tried to, only then realizing that most of her strength was gone. _What's the matter with us? _"Zelgad-- 'Melia--" she gasped out, trying to stand up to go for help, but she could barely crawl, her face bumping painfully along on the wooden floor. _Ow! Somebody help, please! _

* * *

In the front area, Shiran's long tapered ears perked up, and she whined. 

Zelgadis was slipping into a dream state, for all that his eyes were open. He saw the familiar rose-colored light, and heard Amelia's voice. As she appeared out of the light, her sapphire eyes were glowing with love, and when she reached out to take his face in both of her small hands he felt only a moment's trepidation--his own, not hers--and then he was leaning toward her face…

Suddenly a shaggy ball of lavender fur appeared in front of him, and he heard a low howl that sounded as if it was coming through a long tunnel. In the next second, he felt a terrific shove, and the floor came up and hit him in the face. 

As his mind snapped back into awareness, the first thing he noticed were the noises: crashes and thuds and Shiran howling and the wind screaming fiercely past the Woodwind, which was falling--

****

Falling?

Instinctively he reached out to touch the floor of the ship and used his mind to bring the craft to a halt--which was the worst thing he could possibly have done, as _everything_--including himself and Shiran--was in free-fall. He only had the barest instant to realize what was about to happen before the floor--and his own stone arm--came at his face. 

Screams reverberated throughout the Woodwind as her passengers were painfully jerked from unconsciousness, repeatedly struck by flying objects that kept ricocheting off the walls. 

Both Lina and Amelia automatically cast Levitation on themselves, but since Lina was still magicless, she was the lucky one. Amelia had much the same experience as Zelgadis, although she was knocked out almost instantly by one of the packs, cutting off her magic before the moving craft could hit her, which saved her from more severe injuries.

The entire craft was at a crazy angle, with the bright red cloth that used to be over their heads now flailing wildly off to one side, part of it torn loose and rapidly shredding into rags in the fierce winds. Ominous creaks came from the Woodwind itself, as it had not been designed to withstand hurricane-force winds. 

Sunshine was screaming and thrashing in mid-air, but somehow she had managed to avoid hitting the two humans in her stall, and the duo quickly launched themselves out of her way once they regained some of their wits. 

Each of them clutched at a section of the stall wall. "What the hell _happened, _Gourry?" Lina bellowed over the roaring wind that tore through the little area, making stinging whips of her clothes and hair. She ignored the pounding in her head and the sickening waves of nausea in her stomach as it protested its dislike of falling. 

The blonde swordsman didn't answer at first, too busy fending off wads of hay and what would have been a nasty encounter with the pitchfork, which he stabbed forcefully into the wooden floor to keep it out of mischief, then turned to her, wild-eyed with panic. _"Do _something, Lina! We're _falling!"_

_

* * *

_

Author's Notes: Sorry this week's update is a bit late--I had a bunch of stuff I'd been putting off that all had to be finished this week, so my fic had to sit on the back burner for a while.

Matsu Shindou--You have pictures for me? Yay! My email address is Brytelyricaol.com

(If Fanfiction.net deletes my email address, just look up the information in the 'authors' section of FF.net. I haven't updated it in a while but it's still the same email address.) I'm looking forward to seeing them! 

Fuji the Hobbit-- Oh, Kerrin? Right now I'm working on the chapters where they're back in Seyrune, and Kerrin's there. I may have a scene from his POV; I haven't decided yet. And yes, I'd love to see my fic on another website besides FF.net--especially one that also does reviews! Is your site up yet? Let me know when I can visit it!

Lina Gabriev asks: 'in Zel's dream, with the different color's representing his friends, is purple Shiran, Sylphiel, or...Xelloss'? 

It's Shiran. I used the colors that Amelia saw when she and Zel were searching for Lina and Gourry. Shiran's color is lavender with silver at the tips, sort of like a spherical pincushion.

Knid asks: 'does the jewel continue to exert an influence for a time?'

****

No, it only works on you if you're touching it. Zel is acting on his own with Amelia now, feeling more free than he ever has to be able to let his gentler side show. As for The Flight of Dragons and how it was based on the book The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson, yes, I've read it. And the hardcover book The Flight of Dragons, which was basically a physics/science lesson on dragons' anatomy and flight ability, which was explained less technically--and was therefore less tedious for me to follow--in the movie. I recall being disappointed with The Dragon and the George. I can't really remember the plot very well, but I think Dickson's writing style didn't appeal to me, and I believe his main (human) character was hard to identify with, so I couldn't bring myself to care much about him. Or maybe it's because I'm old enough to have watched the show Three's Company. One of the actors from that show voiced the main dragon character in the movie, and I've always been very fond of Peter the Dragon because of that. ****

Shahrezad1--Oh, you noticed about the timing of the girls' periods. And you're right, Lina gets hers after Amelia finishes hers. 

Amelia would have used 'daisuke' in Japanese when she said 'I love you' in this chapter. I thought about having Zel say it back to her, but even if it was more common than it is in Japan, somehow I see Zel as the kind of guy who has a hard time with that phrase. 

The 'bad memories' Lina was talking about is the time when Zelgadis nearly drowned--chapter 13, I believe.

This chapter's title is both a description of where the Woodwind flew and a pun on the characters' behavior--can anyone guess _why_ they're all acting so weird?


	75. Chapter 75: Disaster Strikes!

Only Stone on the Outside

a Slayers fanfic

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

PG for minor swearing

Note: Ame-- a short version of Amelia's name, pronounced AH-may. Also means 'sweet' or 'sweet foods' in Japanese.

Chapter Seventy-Five: Disaster Strikes!

"Do something, Lina! We're falling!" Gourry yelled.

Lina opened her mouth to ask him what he expected her to do without her magic, but just then a smelly clod of fresh horse manure zipped by her head, and she jerked away in reaction, spinning around in midair. Her long hair got blocked most of her vision, but through the rippling red-gold strands she caught sight of something cream-colored.

"Amelia? Amelia!" The petite sorceress grabbed hold of the nearest section of wall and used it as a push-off to fling herself through the air toward the dark-haired princess, who floated limply in the center of the supply area, surrounded by assorted clothing from one of the packs, which had somehow gotten open. The girl's forehead was streaked with bright red blood, trickling a strand of crimson pearls into the air.

Gourry helped her do a quick check of Amelia's injuries. "Only got knocked out, I think," Lina sighed gratefully, flinging her bright hair out of her eyes, and then shouted over the wind, "Here, Gourry, you hang onto her and try to wake her up while I go see what happened to Zel. One of them's got to fly this ship!"

The swordsman nodded grimly, his long yellow hair swirling in the air.

Lina pushed off from Gourry and used the momentum to 'swim' for the violently flapping curtain that separated the front from the rest of the ship. As she reached it, it smacked her in the face several times before she could grab it, triggering her famous fury, and she growled and tore the thing halfway off its nails and shoved it aside.

Zelgadis and Shiran were there, outlined by dim light coming through the front window, which showed that they'd already passed down into the cloud layer again. Alarmed, Lina looked desperately at Zelgadis, noting instantly that he was unconscious. His clothing and Shiran's fur were fluttering like mad, his limbs swaying loosely in the wind, which, although strong, wasn't quite as fierce here with three walls to block some of its force.

All of the walls were creaking and groaning under the tremendous force the wind was exerting on them. Lina eyed the window tensely. _I hope that glass doesn't shatter!_ _This craft wasn't designed to fly in conditions like these!_

Shiran stared at her with wild glowing green eyes as Lina propelled herself toward the chimera. One of his randomly waving hands managed to whack her on the shoulder before she could dodge it. "Ow! Quit that, you jerk!" She nearly hit him back, but managed to clamp down on her fury before she did unnecessary damage to herself.

"What _happened _to him, girl?" Lina asked the dragonwolf, wishing the beast could answer. The dragonwolf gave a low howl that Lina had no trouble interpreting as _He's hurt--and I don't like this!_

Lina gave the stone man a quick once-over. "He doesn't look injured, just knocked out… Hey, did the _gem_ do this to him?"

Just then a new sound was added to the already deafening scream of the wind--the rumble of heavy rain pouring down on them. Suddenly a flash of blinding white light burst in the air all around them as an earsplitting crash of thunder shook her very bones. Shiran gave a howl of fear, and Lina could hear the others yowling as well, but she couldn't blame them, for she too was screaming, sick with terror at being literally caught _in_ a thunderstorm _without her magic_, and utterly helpless.

Just then Zelgadis jerked, his eyes flying open to look wildly up at her. "What--"

Lina ignored her brief flash of relief that he was all right in favor of the current crisis. "Never mind the questions; just _fly this damn ship!"_ she shrieked at him, shaking him violently by the front of his tunic.

Helplessly his arms and legs flailed in midair, trying to find a purchase. "Let go, Lina!" he yelped.

She gave him one more shake for good measure, then growled and shoved him away from her. The stone man flew backward, colliding with one of the walls with a satisfying thud.

Even as the hot-tempered sorceress smirked smugly at her success in punishing him for whatever he'd done to let the Woodwind get into such a situation, a jolt of alarm struck her as she realized, _No! I'm heading right for the open side!_

Something red fluttered out of the corner of her eye and she snatched at it, managing to snag it as she sailed past. The stiff, heavy fabric slid through her fingers and she panicked and dug her fingernails into it, and finally jerked painfully to a stop. Lina found that she was clutching the door-curtain she'd torn earlier, swinging from it like a kite as she looked into the back of the ship.

She was nearly drowned by the deluge--water was not so much _falling_ in as being _driven_ in by the shrieking winds, and most of the cloth 'roof' was gone. Gourry was holding the still-unconscious Amelia around the waist, both of them soaking wet, with clinging clothes and stringy wet hair that streamed water as the wind raked cold fingers over them.

Lina felt her mouth drop open. _What the…? _The swordsman was wearing what looked like Amelia's pink ball gown over his usual blue outfit--the very gown that Zelgadis had worn during the rescue from Ponmar's cave. She started to laugh, but then choked as she noticed that the arm holding Amelia had the oddest of adornments: several pairs of girls' white panties, and even a couple of large bras that could only belong to Amelia. _Why that-- _"What are you _doing, _Gourry?" she bellowed, red-faced.

Startled, Gourry looked over at her. "Help me, Lina!" he shouted over the wind, his face showing no signs of embarrassment or guilt.

What? Blinking, Lina took another look at the situation in front of her. The blonde swordsman was clinging to the wall of Sunshine's stall with both legs like a bucking bronco rider, clutching Amelia with one arm and holding out his other toward Sunshine, trying to soothe the panicky horse, who was still neighing and kicking as she fought vainly to regain her footing. Every now and then she made contact with one of the walls--thankfully, the stall was larger than average or the horse might really have injured herself--but each time Sunshine's kick would merely shove her away from the potential support.

Lina could see the mare's wet white mane whipping Gourry across the eyes, but he merely lowered his head and kept trying to reach for the horse, as if his touch could calm her, or at least stop her random gyrations. Lina forgot about her fiance's strange fashion sense, afraid for both of them. _Watch it, Gourry! Oh, gods, I hope she doesn't break a leg!_

The petite sorceress quickly climbed up the curtain, hand over hand, until she could reach the wood that supported it, then used the solid surface to push off, straight down toward the mare's stall. She held out her hands. "Sleeping!" she cried, putting every last bit of power she possessed into it.

Almost instantly the horse's eyes glazed, and she gradually grew still. Lina breathed a huge sigh of relief. _It's a good thing that a sleep spell generally uses no more magic than a light spell. It's one of the few I can still cast at this time of the month._

The desperate look in Gourry's eyes eased noticeably, and he reached for her with his free arm, catching her hold of her hand and anchoring her from flying off again. Just as he opened his mouth to ask her a question, the wind level toned down, and slowly the floor came up under them, gradually tilting so that it was level by the time it reached them. The entire ship groaned with the effort, and Lina could hear the alarming sounds of wood cracking and snapping all over the place.

Sunshine settled to the floor on her side, and Gourry turned to his sorceress, releasing her hand. "What _happened, _Lina?"

Lina crouched on her hands and knees, panting and shivering from the adrenalin in her system, wanting to go back and beat Zelgadis' head in. "I don't know, but I'm damned sure gonna find out!"

She got to her feet and turned around to see the stone man on one knee in front of the window, clutching the gem to his chest in one hand, bracing himself against the floor with the other. He looked terrible.

"What the hell was that?" she yelled, darting toward him.

Slowly the chimera looked back at her, his eyes showing his bewilderment. "I don't know…"

SCHPOW!

Lina screeched in abject terror as the entire front of the Woodwind lit up in a spectacular flash of light, outlining the staggering chimera in blinding silver-white brilliance, accompanied by the most horrendous blast she had ever heard outside of a Dragon Slave.

Then Zelgadis was stumbling toward her, saying hoarsely, "That was a close one! We've got to get out--"

SCHPOW!-KSHH! Before she even had time to scream, Lina found herself clutched in a bruising stone embrace, her face pressed painfully into the chimera's hard stone chest as a second lightning bolt shattered the front window, sending dozens of jagged glass shards flying all over the place. The Woodwind dipped and rocked, and Lina expected to feel the bottom drop out of her stomach again, but somehow Zelgadis managed to keep them airborne.

Powerful gusts of wet-smelling wind began to wash over her, and she looked up, horrified, to see that the entire front wall was gone, as well as part of the roof and supporting walls. The odor of burning wood choked the air, bringing her attention to the orange tongues of flame that were crawling along the shattered remains of the walls and floorboards, heading in their direction. The poor Woodwind groaned and cried out with the effort to hold together, but the _crack_ of wood splitting and tearing said that it was a losing battle.

"Are you all right?" Zelgadis shouted at her over the wind.

She nodded, suddenly aware of the stings from a dozen cuts, mainly on her legs, but after glancing down she decided that none of them were serious. If Zelgadis hadn't shielded her with his own body, she might have been sliced to ribbons. "Thanks!" she said belatedly.

"This ship's not going to last much longer!" Zelgadis pulled her with him by the arm as he strode through what had once been the demarcation between the front and back rooms. Only a shred of the original bright cloth that had saved her life remained, waterlogged and sad, hanging in the upper corner.

The central/back area offered no protection from the driving rain, but at least the area near the stall wall offered a bit of protection from the fierce winds which howled their way right through the roof and the empty middle of the craft.

Then she realized that Gourry and Amelia were nowhere to be seen. "Gourry!" Lina shrieked, suddenly terrified that he had fallen out of one of the sides of the Woodwind.

"What?" A wet blonde head adorned with strands of hay popped up from behind the stall wall. The swordsman wore his typical 'bewildered' expression, the one that Lina could never decide if she found more adorable or annoying. She put a hand to her small bosom, breathing a sigh of relief, too glad to see him to be angry at how much he'd scared her.

"Is Amelia with you?" Zelgadis looked as frightened as she had been.

Shiran's head appeared, her glowing emerald eyes displaying her gladness that her bonded one was all right, her damp lavender mane sticking up wildly all over the place as Gourry answered, "Yeah, she's still unconscious, but she's okay."

"Uncon--"

"No time for explanations." Lina shrugged the chimera's hand off of her arm, taking a good strong grip on the top of the wooden wall for support. "How are we going to get down?"

The stone man shook his head as if trying to regain his scrambled wits, rubbing a hand over his face with an odd scraping/tapping sound, the sound of stone on stone. "I'm already trying to descend, but this wind is so strong that I feel like it's trying to pull the Woodwind away from me. It's all I can do to keep us level--and that last lightning bolt nearly did us in."

"Lightning?" Gourry yelped. "Was _that_ was those big scary crashes were?"

"Yeah," Lina said absently, distracted by the smell of smoke. _We've got to get ready to leave._

The swordsman looked beyond her, into what had once been the front room. "Lina! We're on fire!"

"I _know_ that! Okay--listen, Gourry--I'll look after Amelia while you start gathering up our supplies. We might have to jump ship."

"We might have to _what?"_

Lina gave a him fierce look, her ruby eyes smoldering, and the large man jumped to his feet and leaped over the wall of the stall in hasty obedience, his pink dress flying. _Nobody_ messed with Lina when she was in that mood!

She turned to Zelgadis, who seemed a bit distracted by the pink chiffon. "Get us down. _Now."_

He nodded, reaching out to take hold of the stall wall for support as his eyes narrowed in concentration. "I'll try a spiraling motion--it may help us to cut through the wind better."

Lina used the gate to enter the stall, wincing as another lightning bolt flashed, but this time the boom of thunder was further away. Already she was getting used to the Woodwind's creaking and groaning, tuning it out. Sunshine lay on her side on the wet bare wooden floor, with Amelia curled in a ball next to her, her head still bleeding, but not as badly. Shiran was sitting next to her bonded one, cleaning the cut on the girl's forehead with her long pink tongue as tenderly as any mother dog--or dragonwolf--would.

Lina wrinkled her nose. _Eww._

She knelt down and reached out to place a hand over the younger girl's forehead, trying to perform a healing spell, but except for a slight tingle, nothing happened. _I had to use too much power on Sunshine. _The diminutive sorceress looked up, spotting a large scrap of material caught in a crack of the stall wall, and pulled it down. The blue fabric was wet, but it was clean enough to make a good bandage for the princess' head.

Shiran whined deep in her throat, and Lina looked up to see two soulful emerald eyes peering down at her. "Don't worry, Shiran," she said, stroking a hand through the dragonwolf's storm-tossed purple mane. "She'll wake up soon. You'll see." _I hope._

Gourry tossed the waterlogged packs in to her. "That's everything, Lina," he said, setting a hand on the top of the wall and bounding over it, not bothering with the gate. Shiran moved aside to make room for the tall swordsman, who crouched on the floor, the torn pink gown trailing, his eyes nervously glancing around as if he expected the boards to drop out from under them all at any moment.

Lina couldn't resist. "Nice dress, Gourry," she smirked, "--and look! It's even your color! But are you sure the panties are going to fit?"

The blonde swordsman glanced down at himself and gave a wordless exclamation, then hurriedly stripped off the offending garments as the redhead snickered at him. "I couldn't reach her pack, okay?" He scowled at her mirth. "And I needed my hands free to handle Amelia and Sunshine."

As the diminutive sorceress continued to laugh--she needed to, to release some of the tension bubbling and fizzing within her--Gourry opened one of the packs and donned his armor. This was probably not the smartest thing to do in the middle of a thunderstorm, but since he would need it after they got back down on the ground anyway, it was a choice between wear it or carry it. "Come on, Lina, quit laughing, will you?"

The Woodwind was constantly shifting, sliding sideways or backward, tilting and dipping like a boat in a stormy sea--which it was, in a way. Lina could see Zelgadis' head and shoulders from where she knelt, and he looked both grim and noble as he fought the stormwinds to bring them down safely. Her mirth abated. _It's at times like these when I know what Amelia sees in him. He'd determined to save us all. _She allowed herself to relax slightly.

Too soon.

SCHPOW! The ship lurched violently as a huge yellow lightning bolt shot down through the nonexistent roof, striking the floor of the supply area with such force that wood shattered and flew, impaling anything not made of stone.

Lina was in shock, staring a shard of wood that was an inch away from her nose as it protruded from the wall of the stall. Gourry began howling in terror, and Shiran joined him, her wild voice sending shivers up the redhead's spine, adding to the surrealistic feeling that had taken over her mind.

Almost idly, she watched as a large crack grew along the floor, right down the center of the ship, slowly bisecting the floor and the wall. The wind whistled up through the widening crack, and vaguely she wondered why there was something wrong with that, when a voice that she recognized as Zelgadis' cried out, "Rei Wing!"

Something happened. The rain stopped. The wind stopped too, its absence so abrupt that she fell over, having become used to bracing herself against it. Someone else fell on top of her, knocking the breath out of her, and for a long moment she could only lay there, half-conscious, choking and gasping against the pressure that kept her from filling her lungs.

"Sorry, Lina." Gourry's voice. The pressure lifted, and she felt hands helping her up, but the world had grayed out and she couldn't see at first.

Eventually her head cleared, and the diminutive sorceress discovered she was being held in Gourry's lap, with his concerned face hovering over hers. "You okay, Lina?"

She groaned, feeling the aches and pains from the multiple cuts and bruises she'd received. "Yeah…I'll live."

Her fiance looked relieved. "Thank goodness."

Before she could stop him, he pulled her close, hugging her to his chest. _Ow--damn armor. _Still, having his arms around her was comforting…until she remembered that they were not alone. Instantly she pushed away from the swordsman, looking around wildly, expecting to see Zelgadis smirking at them--and felt her eyes bulge at the sight that greeted them.

Sunshine's slumbering golden bulk was taking up most of the available room in the Rei Wing bubble, with Shiran and the supply packs half on top of her, but what drew Lina's attention was the pair beyond them. The stone man was sitting on the other side of the horse, oblivious to everything except the small dark-haired girl cuddled tenderly in his lap. As Lina watched, he lifted his hand up to stroke Amelia's cheek, gently brushing her midnight locks from her face, then moved his fingers to touch the piece of blue cloth that Lina had tied around the girl's head as a makeshift bandage.

"Amelia? Ame… Please, wake up." His tone was both loving and worried, and the anxious, caring look on his face brought a lump to Lina's throat. "I need you to wake up now. Can you hear me, Amelia?"

The petite sorceress felt her eyes sting with tears _I've never seen Zelgadis look so…so vulnerable. So concerned. So…in love. _All thoughts of teasing the chimera died aborning. "She'll be okay, Zel," Lina murmured reassuringly. "Give her some time."

To his credit, the stone man showed no embarrassment at being seen in such a compromising situation. "What happened to her?" he asked quietly, his gaze never leaving her face.

Gourry shifted slightly underneath Lina. "We don't know, exactly. I was kissing Lina and then the next thing I knew we were falling and Amelia's head was bleeding and--"

"I did a dumb thing."

Lina, her face blazing, stopped in the middle of elbowing her blabbermouth fiance for his indiscretion as the Seyrune princess spoke.

"Amelia!" Zelgadis' face broke into a glad smile, and again Lina was stunned at the transformation. _He looks like a different man._

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Amelia began to nod, winced, and answered, "I think so. My head hurts something awful, but I don't think anything's broken."

Zelgadis let out a visible sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that. You've been hurt too many times on this gods-forsaken journey…"

Curious, Lina interrupted him. "What did you mean, 'a dumb thing'?"

A small flush appeared on the younger girl's nose. "Oh…when I woke up and realized that we were falling I cast Levitation. I wasn't thinking about how the Woodwind was falling around me too, so when _I_ stopped, _it _didn't. Pretty dumb, huh?"

"……Not _that _stupid."

All eyes turned to the chimera, who put a sheepish hand behind his head. "I did the same thing."

After a long moment, Lina admitted, "Me too," and all three of them exchanged embarrassed grimaces. "It's instinctive, you know? If my powers hadn't been out of commission I'd probably have ended up like you guys."

Gourry piped up, "See, sometimes not having magic is a good thing!" He chuckled at his own cleverness.

Lina smacked him.

Author's Notes: For those of you clever readers who wondered, yes, the title for this chapter has two meanings. I used it as a pun for the phrase 'lightning strikes'. Foreshadowing, you know?

Sylver-Ajah asks: I was a bit confused at the end of this chapter...you said that Amelia and Gourry passed out, but then they were just awake right after?

I put in an explanation for that--they were all awakened by the pain of being struck with flying objects. The line that starts out 'Screams reverberated throughout the Woodwind'.

Ishy-chan comments: 'Though honestly I can't see Zel being as verbally forward about his amorous thoughts as you've portrayed him'

I base this on Zelgadis' personality--when he decides to devote himself to something, he's very gung-ho about it. There's a scene in Next where he voluntarily begins to dress up like a woman in order to get a chance to look at a copy of the Claire Bible, and yet, in another episode where Lina makes him dress up, he fights it every step of the way, so really it comes down to whether _he _wants to do whatever it is. If he decides 'I love Amelia and I want her to know it, because she deserves to after all she's done for me' then he will make the extra effort to say nice things to her.

--Oh, and in chapter 74 where he makes the comment about 'looking at more than just Amelia's hair', I was going for a semi-drunk comment, since he was suffering from oxygen deprivation at the time. I figured it was a little more forward, as you said, than he would normally be.

Jessiejames says: Omaesan is the Japanese word meaning 'you' or 'my dear'.

Thanks, **Jessiejames. **Another helpful fan, **Aino-kaachan, **said** '**I actually don't think there are any widespread pet names that Japanese husbands would use for their wives. The "you" word they commonly use is "omae", but that is not really an endearment -- it is a very straightforward way of saying "you", devoid of any softening politeness; which, in the Japanese culture, does make it either rude or intimate. Curious language, it is.'

If you add -san to 'omae' I'm guessing you add back in the politeness. I've decided to use 'Dearest' and 'Ame' as Zel's intimate words. I would guess that 'Dearest' might translate as 'omae-san', so I guess we're both thinking along the same lines. 'Dearest' sounds a little more old-fashioned and formal than plain 'dear', which makes it charming, in my eyes. (And ears.)

Guess what? I just saw Slayers Premium, the newest Slayers movie. It's only 34 minutes long, so it can hardly even be called a movie, but I liked it. The main storyline was kind of stupid, but I did like the humorous bits-- Gourry- 'Lina, I love you,' Lina- 'What does that mean?' --and how we got to see Amelia traveling alone with Zelgadis. If I recall, someone said that this movie takes place between two season of Slayers, and by the amount of 'flat-chested' Lina jokes and Amelia's over-the-top behavior I'd say that it was right after the first season. (By season three Amelia had matured a lot and they hardly had any jokes, as I recall.) Zel is treating Amelia like an overzealous little sister, someone to be looked after. It's cute.

I watched it at a friend's house, so I only got to hear the English voice track. They got Crispin Freeman to do Zelgadis again, which was awesome, and the people who played Gourry and Amelia were fine, but I really missed Lisa Ortiz' voice for Lina. I've seen the other Slayers movies, so I know it's the same voice actress as those, but she just doesn't have that fearsome quality that the TV-series Lina has when she gets royally ticked off.

It's ten bucks at Best Buy, at least in my part of New Hampshire, USA, and when I checked on ebay (the cheapest place I know of to buy anime online) it started at $8.00 and went up from there, so with shipping it'll cost the same as at Best Buy.

In the extras there's an interview with Crispin Freeman about voicing Zel after so many years, after his style has grown and changed. It may not interest some of you, but since Crispin is around my age, I guess I'm more willing to listen to him talk, if only to compare his speech patterns to Zel's. I did notice that in the beginning of the movie Zel's voice sounded a little lighter than it used to be, but soon enough it deepened to what I recognize most clearly as 'Zelgadis'.

Also, I rather like the way the characters were drawn in manga-style. Zel's face is less classically 'beautiful', but more human, more expressive, with much larger blue eyes, and I find I like the purplish color of Amelia's hair better than black.


	76. Chapter 76: Bubbles and Lullabies

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG for mild language

Note: Ame-- a short version of Amelia's name, pronounced AH-may. Also means 'sweet' or 'sweet foods' in Japanese.

Baritone-- a male voice of medium range, between tenor and bass

Chapter Seventy-Six: Bubbles and Lullabies

In the midst of a howling thunderstorm, a small magic orb slowly descended. To all appearances it was as delicate as a soap bubble, but no matter how ruthlessly the wind gusts assaulted it, they could not break it.

Inside, conditions were stable but crowded, with the palomino mare Sunshine taking up most of the room. Gourry sat between her front and back legs with Lina in his lap, Shiran and their packs were draped here and there over the golden body, and Zelgadis was wedged between the mare's back and the outer wall, holding Amelia safe in his lap.

Amelia looked up at Zelgadis, feeling the stirrings of nostalgia. Her head ached, and the hard stone arms and legs under her body were somewhat uncomfortable, but their touch was familiar--and welcome--and their clothing did provide some padding. She could see his profile silhouetted against the dark stormclouds swirling outside of the Rei Wing bubble, looking noble, yet pensive.

A yellow lightning bolt flashed in the distance, followed almost immediately by a muffled _boom._

She blushed involuntarily as he looked down at her, his face concerned. "Amelia, do you feel strong enough to cast a healing spell on yourself while I get us back down to the ground?"

An instant sense of déjà vu swept over her.

The chimera continued, "…If you don't, just try to rest until we land, and then I'll take care of you. The storm is moving east, so I'm taking us down at a westward slant. Hopefully, we'll be out of this rain by the time we touch down."

He sounds so gentle…just like that time--

"Amelia? What's wrong?" Zelgadis asked, making her realize that she was staring at him.

"Oh--n-nothing--I just-- This is just like that time when we were in the ghost-city of Sairaag, when we were being chased by the zombies and I got hit on the head and you picked me up and carried me. You said the same thing, sort of, about me casting Healing while you carried me to safety in your strong arms…"

"Did I?" Zelgadis looked as if he was trying to remember.

Amelia reached up to touch his face, her sapphire eyes shimmering. "I remember…because that was when I first fell in love with you."

She watched as his face softened, and then he gave her the tender smile that was hers alone. "I'm sorry it took me so long to come around."

Amelia began to lose herself in his blue-green gaze, but just then Lina noisily cleared her throat, reminding the couple that they had an audience. "So how's your head, Amelia?"

Amelia felt a blush appear over her nose as she turned to look at her red-haired friend, and winced as the motion made the throbbing in her head increase. "Ooo, it hurts…" she whimpered, and reached out a hand toward her forehead, intending to cast Healing, but the chimera's next words stopped her.

"Don't strain yourself." Zelgadis gave her a worried look. "We'll be down soon--it won't be long."

I can still do a healing spell. Amelia almost spoke aloud, but then a small part of her mind pictured Zelgadis leaning over her, casting the cool soothing light that took away one's pain… _The only time I've ever had someone else cast Healing on me is when I was unconscious. I wonder, can you feel the other person who's doing it? _She resolved to bear with the pain--her curiosity was far more insistent. __

Amelia closed her eyes to try to get some rest. For a long while the only sounds were the shrieks and wails of the wind outside of their small haven, which slid here and there as the gusts tried to play ball with them, and Amelia was thankful that she would only have to bear with it for a few more minutes. _I think I'm starting to feel a little queasy…_

"What are we going to do now, Zel?" Lina asked quietly.

Amelia opened her eyes--and instantly shut them, as the light--dim though it was--sent shooting pains through her head.

"I don't know. We can't Rei Wing home--this bubble's just too small. Even if I could expand the size, we can't keep Sunshine asleep for days."

"Why not?" Gourry asked.

"Because horses need to stand upright. Lying down too much isn't good for anybody, really--fluid tends to collect in the lungs, and then you've got a case of pneumonia on your hands."

"Really?" Gourry sounded interested.

Amelia felt the stone man's body shift slightly, as if he had nodded his head. "I used to own horses… I spent a lot of time hanging around the stables when I was a boy."

"Oh, if only we hadn't gotten sidetracked!" Lina sounded frustrated. "That damn Ponmar…"

"I admit his timing could have been better, but it wasn't his fault someone led him to believe that you were his enemy, Lina," Zelgadis pointed out.

Amelia smiled a little. _Just what I was going to say. He sounds so good, coming to Mister Ponmar's defense like that! I'm proud of him._

Lina growled, and said, "Well, we can't possibly make it to Seyrune on foot."

"How do you know? Do _you_ know how much further we have to go?"

There was silence. "…Not exactly. Do you?"

"I think I recognized a town I know…but things look so different from the air. I'm not really sure, either, but I think the first thing we need to do is establish where we are. Once we know how long it will take us to get to Seyrune, we can decide what to do from there."

I love it when he takes charge! the princess thought happily.

Lina argued, "Suppose we're more than a week from Seyrune? You can't miss that deadline."

Now the chimera was silent.

"What if we left Sunshine behind? We could find someone to look after her…"

"No!" Amelia jumped at the chimera's sharp tone. "Amelia's already lost _one_ horse on this journey. I felt it, remember? I won't let her lose Sunshine, too."

Amelia was touched by his consideration of her feelings. _Sunny's _is_ the best horse I've ever owned, and besides, Mister Sanre sold his brother's horse to me because he and Rilloban believed that I would give her a good home. I can't disappoint them._

An awkward silence ensued, until Lina added, "I didn't mean for good. We'd come back to get her..."

"How about if the rest of you went ahead, and I took Sunny and followed you on foot?" Gourry suggested. "I don't like flying anyway, and you don't really need me to help with the cure, since I can't do magic--"

"No!" Now it was Lina who was vehement. "I'm _not_ leaving you behind. That's _final!"_

Again, everyone was quiet as they each realized the extent of the situation and each others' feelings on the subject. "…Let's take this one step at a time, all right?" Zelgadis suggested. "We'll worry about all of this _if_ and _when_ we need to. For now, we need to look for a safe place to land. I need a good spot to tend to Amelia."

"How about that clearing over there?" Gourry asked. "See, by that little stream."

"I see it." Zelgadis' arms tightened around her. "Hold on, everyone."

The landing was rougher than usual, but Amelia clenched her teeth and managed to keep from yelping in pain as the bubble dissolved and they dropped to the ground. It was still raining, by the feel of it, but markedly less; a drizzle instead of a deluge. Zelgadis lifted her from his lap and laid her down on what felt like wet grass. "Amelia?"

The light rain sprinkling on her face made her think of tears, and she opened her eyes, squinting against the dim light to see her chimera bending over her. She smiled up at him, wanting to calm the concerned flicker in his eyes. "I'm okay."

Zelgadis felt a stab of alarm. _That's what she said the last time. When the Hellmaster snuffed out her life, and she died in my arms… _Already he was holding out his hands over her forehead as he'd been yearning to do ever since he'd seen her white, suffering face, letting the healing light emerge, bathing her face in its radiance. "Recovery."

"Mmm…" The lines of pain eased from her face, and she smiled up at him, feeling her entire body relax. "That feels so good…" _I can just barely sense him…and that could be from the Star Spheres. Oh, well, I don't mind…it feels good to have someone take care of me once in a while._

As the young girl relaxed under the tender ministrations of her attentive chimera, she began to think about the conversation she'd overheard. She hadn't meant to feign sleep--the conversation had been so interesting that she'd forgotten that the others hadn't known she was awake--but she was glad to know that Zelgadis was showing the kind of judgment that rulers needed.

Not that I had any doubts…but a ruler needs to be aware of people's needs, and he needs to be able to prioritize tasks, and_ to have patience in difficult situations. _She smiled wryly. _I'm still working on that last one myself._

Zelgadis did not stop when the injury on her forehead was gone, moving his slender hands in graceful arcs over the rest of her body, soothing away all of her other minor aches and pains. Finally he asked, "Does it still hurt?"

Slowly the young princess moved her head from side to side, testing for twinges. "No…I'm fine now." The stone man held out a hand to her, and she took it gladly and used his support to pull herself to a sitting position, then let go and stretched her arms over her head, glad to be free of her formerly pain-tense muscles. She pulled off the damp cloth bandage, now free of blood, since it had all been absorbed back into her body

"What happened to us, anyway?" She stood up and looked around the little clearing, watching the trees' leaves flutter in the light breeze that brushed past her ears, blowing loose strands of her raven hair into her eyes. She reached up to touch the hair on the top of her head. _Good--the ribbon Zelgadis tied is still there. I would have hated to lose it, after that time we spent together…_

"That's what _I'd _like to know!" Lina put her hands on her slender hips. "For a while I felt like I was drunk or something--everything was funny--and then I realized that I'd been having a hard time breathing and I looked at Gourry and his lips were _blue."_

"Pressure." Everyone turned to stare at the chimera, who closed his eyes, his face grim. "I'm such a fool. I never thought about the change in pressure at that altitude--and after all the traveling I've done--"

"Altitude--of _course! _Like how the air's thinner at the top of a high mountain!" Lina grimaced. "I can't _believe_ I didn't remember that."

Amelia looked back and forth between them. Lina was merely frustrated, but for some reason Zelgadis seemed to be taking it hard. A blue shadow darkened his face, and his expression grew hard, bitter, full of the self-condemnation that she abhorred seeing in him. _It's not his fault!_

"Don't feel bad," Amelia said to both of them after a moment. "I've heard of it too, but I didn't recognize the symptoms either. None of the mountains we've ever climbed were high enough to have to worry about the altitude…and when Miss Filia flew us she went so fast that we didn't have much of a chance to be affected. How _could_ we know?"

"Yes, but now look at us--we've lost the Woodwind." Zelgadis clenched his fists at his sides.

Yes--her chimera was blaming himself for that loss. Amelia recognized the signs; he was heading into a major brooding session. _But it isn't his fault--and we don't have time for that. With the Woodwind gone we can't use the gem to fly over obstacles--we're going to have to travel on foot. We might not make it in time. _She opened her mouth to defend him from himself, but Lina spoke first.

"Well, what's _gone_ is gone, and there's no use crying about it now." She flipped her long red-gold hair over her shoulder and gave them all her trademark cocky grin. "Come on, guys, we've got to get moving if we want these two lovebirds to make it to the altar in time!"

Even as Amelia exchanged embarrassed glances with Zelgadis--who had the cutest pink blush over his nose--she also mentally thanked her friend for distracting the stone man. Following Lina's bold example, the princess struck a dramatic pose, her index finger thrust up toward the sky, shouting in a singsong tone, "Through storm and wind and cold and rain, we will make it home again!"

Wow, I'm a poet. She grinned at Zelgadis, doing her best to infuse him with positive spirit.

"Hey, I like that." Gourry smiled and repeated her words, and then, to the young princess' astonishment, began to sing them in a clear, warm baritone.

Amelia blinked. "Wow, Mister Gourry, you have a really good singing voice!"

"Thanks."

"You should hear him sing lullabi--" Lina cut herself off.

All eyes turned toward the petite sorceress, who turned nearly as red as her hair. "Miss Lina, does Mister Gourry sing you lullabies?" Amelia asked, surprised.

Lina avoided her gaze, still blushing up a storm, and finally muttered, "Yeah--but only because I was so sick I couldn't sleep!"

"Was this back when you were imprisoned together?" Zelgadis asked, and when Amelia looked at him she caught the tiniest hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.

Inwardly she cheered. _Thank goodness; he's feeling better._

"Mm." Gourry nodded. "But now every now and then she asks me to sing to her--usually in Sunny's stall--"

__

"Jellyfish!"

Suddenly the tall swordsman was cringing in front of the tiny woman, who looked ready to beat his head in. "What'd I do _now?"_

His fear triggered Amelia's protective instincts. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Miss Lina. I think it's _wonderful_ that Mister Gourry sings to you, even if it's just lullabies."

Lina's gave her a fierce glare, her ruby eyes flashing, and Amelia winced, bracing herself for a headlock. _What did I say?_

"You've got a very good voice, though, Gourry," Zelgadis broke in, smoothly dispelling the tension as he casually stepped in between the two girls. "Do you know any songs other than lullabies?"

"Not really."

Amelia blinked. _Ah. I thought Miss Lina asked him to sing lullabies because she liked them, but I guess they embarrass her._

"If you want…I could teach you some."

Now all three of them looked at the stone man with wide eyes. "I thought you hated singing!" Lina exclaimed.

"No, I just don't like singing in front of an audience," Zelgadis said, averting his gaze. "At one time I thought I might become a minstrel, but I never enjoyed performing for large groups, so.."

"A _minstrel?" _Both girls gave him identical looks of astonishment.

"Yes--what of it?" The chimera's tone was definitely defensive.

"So _that's_ why you play the guiolin so beautifully!" Amelia was delighted. "I'm _so_ glad I gave you that guiolin… When you played for me, it was the most wonderful sound in the world…" She clasped her hands in front of her chest as a sudden memory returned. "You even promised me you'd come back and play it for me again, remember?"

Zelgadis was suddenly back in the little chamber where she had presented him with the most perfectly constructed guiolin he'd ever seen, all elegant lines and grace, softly shining with a warm golden hue. He remembered the beatific smile on her face as she had danced to his melody, allowing his music to guide her feet and body in a gentle, flowing pattern of happiness.

Happiness. I was happy. For the first time in months, I could smile, even laugh, all because of Amelia. And Lina, and Gourry…all of them have been trying their hardest to help me. Teaching Gourry a few songs is the least I can do.

Amelia was still looking at him expectantly, and he realized that he had not answered her question. "I remember."_ I also remember what happened afterward…Amelia's kiss, and her gift of the wa--the Star Sphere, which ended up saving both of our lives… _Unconsciously he

deepened his gaze as he looked into the princess' eyes, and saw that she was remembering too. One of her hands came up to cover the large metal sphere on her other wrist.

Amelia looked up into the blue-green gaze of the handsome stone man, and felt her chest tighten. _His eyes are so…compelling, like magnets. Back when I gave him the Sphere, he looked into my eyes, and I was so full of love that I just had to kiss him…_

"Well anyway, Zelgadis, I'd really like to learn some new songs," Gourry said, breaking them out of their trance. Both of them blushed and turned away from each other as the tall swordsman continued ruefully, "But I'm not exactly the best student. Lina's always telling me how dumb I am…"

There was an awkward silence. Everyone knew of the swordsman's notoriously short attention span and tendency to fall asleep when Lina was explaining things to him, but no one wanted to be rude enough to agree with him. Likewise, none of them wanted to say that he was a good student, because the lie would be obvious.

"You never know, Gourry," Zelgadis smiled slightly. "Learning music is different from other kinds of learning. You remembered that lullaby from your childhood, didn't you?"

"Yeah…oh, I see what you mean. Maybe having the music with the words will help me remember?"

"Exactly."

"Great! When do we start?"

"Tonight when we make camp," Lina interrupted. "We've got to put some land behind us. Good thing the rain's let up."

Surprised, Amelia looked up to see that the petite sorceress was correct. The sky was still overcast, but to the west a thin line of blue could be seen through the grayish clouds. "Oh, good! We won't have to walk in the rain."

"But first--a little help, here?" Amelia turned to see Lina pointing toward her legs. The blue-eyed princess drew in a breath of shock as she realized that her friend's red leggings were torn in a dozen places, with pale, blood-smeared skin showing through the jagged tears. "Oh! What _happened _to you?" she cried, dropping to her knees and beginning a healing spell. "Recovery!"

"Oh, this? Damn window broke. If Zel hadn't blocked most of it, I've have been skewered like a pincushion."

Amelia gulped, and turned to look gratefully at the chimera--who was gone. _Zelgadis!_

****

Author's Notes: Zel couldn't heal Amelia while maintaining the Rei Wing spell, because in the Slayers world a mage can't cast two major spells at once.

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Sylver-Ajah--   
That is weird, about the links. And I did contact them when they emailed me about putting my story on the site--elitefanfiction, I believe--and they did put it up, as far as I know. Why, is it gone again?

Slayers Premium is basically what you'd call an extra-long filler episode. No major bad guys, no saving the world; it's basically a comedy. Not really any romance beyond a bit of blushing.

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deep sea dolphin and **Claudia22** let me know that Slayers Premium is set between seasons 2 and 3.

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Ichiban Victory says: If you ever get the chance, you ought to check out the manga. [for Slayers Premium] The story is much better...and Amelia doesn't get blasted away for most of the story!

There's a manga? Has it been translated yet and is it in stores?

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Lina Gabriev asks: I still don't understand why Gourry was in a dress

If you recall, Amelia passed out right after she opened the pack containing her extra clothes. Gourry, holding an unconscious Amelia, kept having the clothes hit him while they were in free-fall, and probably thought they would end up flying outside of the ship (remember, the sides of the Woodwind had no doors, only sheets of cloth stretched between the front and back frames of the ship) so he tried to capture all the clothes, but ended up not having enough hands, so he put the thing he considered the most important--Amelia's dress--on himself, then began adding more things as he caught them.  
  
**Ishy-chan **asks: Hm... Rei Wing? Why didn't Zel cast that instead of trying to spiral down?

To be honest, I don't know if Rei Wing can be cast any larger than about six feet in diameter, but for the purposes of my story, it can't.

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Wakuchan asks: How long is it expected to be?

Well, the gang arrives in Seyrune in chapter 79, and right now I'm working on chapter 81. I expect to wrap things up with about 85 chapters, as I've got the ending mostly worked out; I just haven't written it yet.


	77. Chapter 77: Female Comfort, Male Bondin...

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Only Stone on the Outside

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a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG for mild language

Note: guiolin-- A stringed instrument like a cross between a violin and a guitar. Pronounced gee-oh-linn, with the 'g' as in 'great'. Accent on the first syllable.

Philionel -- fil-yon-ell

Sorrel -- a coat pattern for a horse. Red with a light blonde mane and tail.

Tuupa rodent -- TOO-pah -- sort of a cross between a groundhog and a beaver, but larger.

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Female Comfort / Male Bonding / The Triumphant Return?

__

Zelgadis? Where are you?

A small sound of dismay escaped the young girl as she frantically glanced around, and then Amelia sighed in relief to see him crouching down next to the still-sleeping Sunshine, almost hidden in the wet knee-length grass. _For a moment I thought he'd left us again. When he's in a bad mood he tends to want to go off on his own…but right now we can't afford to go looking for him. There's just no time._

She knew him well enough to know that he was still bothered by the loss of the Woodwind, and was silent as she tended to her friends' injuries, thinking about how to make him feel better.

"Thanks, Amelia," Gourry said, breaking her out of her reverie as he lifted one arm and moved it in a circle, testing it for soreness. "It feels fine now."

"Oh--good." She smiled and turned away to look for Zelgadis. The chimera had moved some distance away from the group, kneeling amongst the wet grass as he directed a wave of Recovery toward Shiran, who sat calmly in front of him. Sunshine was on her feet and seemed none the worse for her enforced sleep; at the moment she was standing over the stone man with her nose almost nudging his back, asking for attention.

What a cute picture they make! Amelia thought in delight, until she noticed the tightness of his shoulders, and the slight frown on his lips. The happiness ebbed from her eyes, and then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She met Lina's gaze and saw that her friend shared her concern. The red-haired sorceress inclined her head in the stone man's direction and Amelia nodded. No words were needed. _I need to go talk to him…but what do I say?_

Slowly she began walking, hearing the wet grass swish against her already drenched pants-legs. Vague thoughts of using a heat-spell to dry all of their clothes flowed around the edges of the girl's mind, but at the moment she was concentrating on what she could possibly say to soothe her poor disheartened chimera.

The palomino mare greeted her with a soft nose in the girl's face, and she smiled automatically and stroked the horse as she gazed down at Zelgadis, who suddenly looked rather small and vulnerable with only his head and shoulders emerging from the waist-high grass. _He almost looks like he's hiding…_

Shiran wagged her fluffy, slightly damp lavender tail in greeting, but did not move as the stone man completed his healing spell and then continued to sit there with his back to her, motionless. _He knows I'm here. Can't he face me? Is he afraid I'll blame him for what happened?_

Even for a man made of stone, he looked rigid, his shoulders slightly hunched as if to protect himself from her condemnation. Her heart melted. Instinctively the raven-haired princess dropped lightly to her knees and reached out to hug him from behind, crossing her hands over his chest and setting her chin on his firm shoulder. "Darling…" she murmured lovingly, her tone hushed, meant for his ears alone.

Zelgadis twitched at the endearment, and simultaneously Amelia had to stifle a yelp as her cheek suddenly began stinging fiercely. _Ow--his hair scratched me._

Zelgadis must have heard her soft involuntary sound. "What is it?" he said sharply, his suspicion overcoming his embarrassment.

"Oh--nothing." _The last thing I need is to have him getting upset over his curse, too. _She tightened her hold, pressing her body firmly against his to make sure he could feel her embrace, taking care this time to keep her face just out of reach of his wire hair. "I just wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" Zelgadis was astonished. He stared at the small rocky stream in front of him, still unable to meet her eyes, feeling himself blushing at the way Amelia was embracing him in front of the others.

"Of course--without you we'd all be dead now."

He was silent, unable to refute her statement, but finally his guilt forced him to speak. "But it's _my_ fault we lost the Woodwind in the first place. If we'd only stayed on the ground and waited out the storm…if I'd only remembered about the altitude…"

"If Mister Gourry hadn't suggested we fly above the rain, if _I_ hadn't asked you to fly us even higher, if I'd recognized the symptoms right away--if, if, if… Don't you see, Zelgadis? It's not completely _your_ fault. The results would have been the same, even if Miss Lina or I had been doing the flying."

"You don't know that." But he could not help being somewhat mollified. Her arms felt good around him, solid and comforting, despite his embarrassment at being hugged in front of his friends. He glanced over at Lina and Gourry and was relieved to see that they were rummaging through the supply packs, politely ignoring what was going on.

After a moment Amelia said quietly, "You're right, I don't…but if it hadn't been _you_ wearing the gem, we probably wouldn't have survived. We may have lost the Woodwind, but you saved what was important, when it counted."

Slowly Zelgadis smiled, feeling his dark mood lightening, unable to stand against her emotional sunlight. He reached up to put a stone hand over hers on his chest, gratefully accepting her comfort. "I--Thank you, Amelia."

She tightened her arms around him even more, reminding him from the strength of her grip that she was Phil's daughter, and then she stunned him by pressing her lips briefly to his hard cheek. When she pulled away, he heard the small but unmistakable sound of a kiss, and then she was whispering, "I love you," in his ear before pulling away.

He sat still for a moment, assimilating everything that had just happened as a slight smile slowly appeared on his lips. _I wonder if I'll ever get used to hearing someone tell me they love me?_

He glanced up to see Amelia beaming down at him, and then he frowned, noting the red line marring her cheek. A tiny drop of blood further defiled her beauty. _Wait a minute. I just healed her. _A sudden unpleasant notion struck him. "Where did you get that?" he demanded.

Her hand went to her cheek, and a white light emerged, closing the scratch within moments. Her big blue eyes looked earnestly into his. "It's nothing--see?"

Zelgadis looked away, his lips tightening in disgust; not at her--at himself. _Damned chimera--when are you going to get it through your head that you're _not normal?

"Why do I always hurt those I care about?" he said aloud, not caring that Lina and Gourry had turned to stare at him. Slowly, heavily, he got to his feet, a blue cloud of dejection hovering over his head, and began trudging southwest toward Seyrune.

Lina and Gourry exchanged bewildered glances, then turned questioningly to Amelia, who was staring after the depressed chimera with a desperately unhappy look in her eyes.

No one spoke. Each person picked up a damp supply pack and began to walk.

In the palace of Seyrune, Prince Philionel wil Seyrune paused dramatically in the middle of telling yet another joke to his (maybe) future son-in-law, Kerrin, and then finished, "So the researcher shouts, '"Of course! It only _stands_ to _reason!"' _Ah-ha-ha-ha!"

Young Kerrin chuckled. "That's a good one, sir."

Phil beamed at the boy, with whom he had spent a considerable amount of time over the last month, getting to know him. _I can see why Amelia chose him…the resemblance to Zelgadis is remarkable. But aside from that,_ _I _like_ this kid. He's got a good head on his shoulders, even if he hasn't had as much experience in vanquishing evil as my Amelia has. He's excellent with a sword, can out-ride most of my best horsemen, and can even play the guiolin. Best of all, he has a strong sense of honor and is willing to learn about my philosophies on life. Amelia could have done a lot worse for herself._

The big man sighed. His dark-blue eyes, so much like his daughter's, held a melancholic shadow. _It's too bad she doesn't love him. I saw the look in her eyes that night--when her ward bracelet lit up like one of Miss Lina's fireballs and she realized that Zelgadis was dying… I've never heard my Amelia speak of a man in that tone of voice before._

His gaze turned inward. _She's so much like me…when I fell in love with her mother, there was no one else for me. I've never been able to think about another woman in the same way. Amelia's got her heart set on marrying Zelgadis. If their quest fails, will she be able to open her heart to Kerrin, or will she forever pine away for the one true love of her life? Oh, what mischief the heart can play!_

Kerrin was looking at him questioningly; his intelligent bright brown eyes showing his keen perception of Philionel's unusually quiet behavior. "Is everything all right, sir?"

Phil snapped out of it, putting a hand behind his head and guffawing in embarrassment. "I'm fine; I'm just wondering what's taking them so long."

"They should have been back by now, shouldn't they?"

He nodded his shaggy black head. "Oh, yes, at least two days ago…"

The young man's eyes widened in alarm. _"Really?" _His voice went from baritone to tenor."Do you think something's happened to them?" he asked, his normally cheerful expression giving way to anxiety. "Should we send out search parties to look for them? What if they've been attacked by bandits, or--"

Hastily Phil interrupted. "You forget--Amelia's traveling with Miss Lina, who is known as the Bandit Killer. My daughter has done _plenty_ of adventuring with Miss Lina and her friends, and she has _always_ come home safe and sound."

"But today is her birthday." Kerrin ran a hand through his short, fluffy red-brown hair, making it stand up in wild spikes. "If she doesn't return by midnight tonight she'll lose the throne, won't she?"

The genuine concern in his voice touched the big man's tender heart, making him want to reassure the boy, mentally pushing his own worries to the back of his mind. "Well, yes, that is true, but it's only mid-morning…she still has plenty of time. All of the preparations have been completed, so we can begin the ceremony the _moment_ she arrives. Don't worry, Kerrin." He reached out and put a large hand on the boy's narrow shoulder. "Miss Lina has never let me down yet. I have _complete_ faith in her."

Kerrin said no more, but Phil noted with approval that the slender young man seemed more worried about Amelia's safety than that he himself would also lose the chance to claim the throne someday. _I have no doubt that Zelgadis would make a fine, strong ruler, but my boy, I would like to have you as a member of this family. We've lost too many…_

Throughout the day, Philionel's thoughts were with his daughter and the other brave young people with whom she journeyed. _I can't give in to despair; I must have faith that Amelia was able to find her friends and that Zelgadis was able to acquire his cure. I just know that they're safe, and hurrying home to Seyrune at his very minute. _He closed his eyes and winced as a daunting idea hit him. _I hope Miss Lina didn't find out that I gave Amelia Seyrune's crest!_

His schedule had been cleared due to the expectation that he would be spending the day with his daughter, so Phil had the uncommon burden of having extra time on his hands. He spent a lot of that time watching from a balcony as Kerrin practiced riding his sorrel horse over a set of jumps that had been set up in one of the grassy paddocks. _Kerrin said he's training that horse as a gift for Amelia. He's certainly a fine animal, well-mannered, with a big, bold personality that Amelia should like. It's about time she had her own charger, anyway. I wonder if she'll like his color? She's always liked white horses like my Gallant._

The tall stallion had a red body with a creamy-blonde mane and tail, and white socks on his forelegs. A small white star decorated his forehead. Phil watched as Kerrin spoke to the horse, who flicked his small ears and broke into a graceful yet powerful trot, his long cream-colored tail held high and proud. _Truly a beautiful horse._

The palace was full of waiting guests, dressed in the fabulous finery of many different cultures. Some wore glorious bright silks, some wore delicate filmy fabrics in pastel colors, some wore handsome furs or exotic feathers. Some of them--those who lived too far away to make it worthwhile to return home--had been here for nearly a month, since Amelia's last ball. Phil winced at the thought of how much it had cost to feed them all. _Thanks goodness I only have one wedding to pay for… _

He had already been accosted by so many messengers sent from the visiting dignitaries concerning the beginning of the ceremony that he had finally had to make an announcement. He stood in front of the crowd in the ball room, where most of the guests had congregated, and smiled, a trifle sheepishly. "Sorry about the delay, my good friends. There appears to be a problem that needs to be addressed before the wedding can take place. It could be some time, so I suggest that you all relax for now."

"What kind of problem? Does it concern that mysterious fiance of hers?" called a burly man from the middle of the crowd.

"How much longer must we wait?" asked a tall thin chancellor with a fringe of gray hair.

Philionel laughed nervously, putting a hand to the back of his head. Experience had taught him that there was no point in upsetting people needlessly. _Not when there's still enough time for all of this to work out…_ He answered the second question. "Midnight. It will all be decided no later than midnight." _For better or for worse. Please, Amelia, hurry!_

The day dragged on, and the long afternoon shadows grew. Phil was debating whether or not to take Kerrin's suggestion and send out search parties when a shout went up from one of the tower guards. "Something's coming! Look over there! It's flying toward us!"

Phil let out a wordless bellow of triumph as what looked like a bubble of some kind came flying slowly through the sky. It wavered erratically over the enormous hedge-maze, then headed toward Philionel, who stood in the middle of one of the small flower gardens that surrounded the palace walls.

Instantly several guards leaped in front of him, their weapons ready. "Wait!" Phil commanded. "I know who it is."

They gave him dubious looks, but fell back. _Ever since those mazoku kidnapped me, they've been vigilant to the point of paranoia._ Phil felt a twinge of annoyance at the way they treated him like spun glass, but he had to acknowledge that their caution was proper.

The bubble slowly settled to the grass, and then vanished, leaving behind what looked like a jumbled pile of old clothes. Phil blinked. _What in the world…?_

Suddenly one of the bundles moved. "Daddy!" it shouted, and hurled itself directly at him.

Phil found himself clutching his beloved daughter to his chest, laughing and swinging her around and around as he gave vent to the tremendous emotional strain that he had been under for the last month. "Amelia, my Amelia! I was so worried about you! But I--"

"Shiran-_halt!"_

Phil jerked around to face a lavender blur that was bounding toward him, but before he could experience more than a quick flash of fear the huge animal stopped, skidding hard enough to gouge the grass from the brown earth underneath. The big man set Amelia down behind him, then turned to look at the pale purple beast. "What _is_ that?"

Then he realized that he had recognized the voice that had spoken, and turned back to the colorful pile, which was sorting itself out into Amelia's other comrades, several large supply packs, and a palomino-colored horse. All of them looked fine, and he breathed a sigh of relief…and then it hit him, like a shaft of ice between his shoulder blades. _Oh, _no_…Zelgadis… He's still a chimera!_

He turned to look at Amelia, his dark-blue eyes stricken, and met her troubled gaze. She looked to be on the verge of tears, her lower lip trembling the way it used to when she was little. The big man felt his shoulders drooping, and had to blink away the hot feeling in his eyes. _They failed? No…this can't be. My darling daughter…_

Before he could say anything, Lina darted up to him and said breathlessly, "How much time do we have?"

Phil gaped at her for a moment, unable to comprehend why that should matter, then said, "Until midnight tonight."

Before his eyes, his beautiful daughter transformed from miserable to ecstatic. _"Really?" _she squealed, and clapped her hands, spinning in a circle.

"Well, yes… Usually the ceremony takes place at sunset, but I managed to convince the council to allow you until midnight to take care of--" Suddenly he looked around, aware of the growing crowd of people around them. "Uh…why don't we talk about this inside?"

Amelia glanced around her, then nodded. "Right. Guards, will you please see to my horse? Her name is Sunshine."

"Right away, Princess."

Zelgadis spoke the words required to revive the sleeping horse, who rose to her feet and was led away peaceably to her new home.

The new arrivals each picked up a pack, then began heading toward the nearest entrance. The large shaggy lavender creature trotted by Amelia's side, looking warily at everything with strange, glowing green eyes.

Phil followed, still not understanding what was going on. "Amelia…are you sure you want to bring that…uh, animal? Inside?"

Amelia tossed a careless glance over her shoulder. "Oh, Shiran's all right. She's going to be living with us from now on."

"What?" He hurried after them.

Amelia led the way to one of the smaller council chambers. It had no windows, only two doors one each at either end of the room, and a medium-sized table with eight chairs. Amelia dropped wearily into the nearest chair, Zelgadis sat next to her, and the large purplish beast sat between them. Lina and Gourry took chairs on the opposite side of the table, leaving the end chair for Philionel.

As he strode into the room, Lina looked up and asked brashly, "Hey, Phil, have you got anything to eat around here?"

"Oh--of course." He turned to the guards who had followed him and sent one to the kitchen with orders to bring as much food as possible. Fortunately, the cooks had spent all days preparing dishes for the guests, so there was bound to be something available on short notice.

Phil nodded to the rest of the guards as a cue to remain outside, and closed the heavy wooden door. As he sat down, he began, "Now what is going on here? Why isn't Zelgadis cured? What took you so long? Where is Gallant? What--"

Lina interrupted him. "We don't have time to tell you the whole story, Phil, so let's just get to the important stuff…."

The days after the loss of the Woodwind were tense as the stress of traveling ever-faster took over their minds. Lina became more and more irritable, Amelia alternated between arguing with Lina and silent worrying, Zelgadis was still brooding about the loss of the Woodwind, and even Gourry became grim and silent.

Despite Zelgadis' reluctance, they ended up having to use the Rei Wing bubble occasionally, to fly over large lakes, rivers, chasms and some of the steeper mountain peaks, especially after they learned that they were indeed more than a week away from Seyrune. An old farmer had told them the day after the Woodwind's destruction, and ever since then, speed had been the one thing on everyone's minds. Somehow they had to condense eight days' worth of travel into seven.

They took the most direct route possible, although that often meant that they were nowhere near a town when the humans could no longer keep their eyes open. Lack of sleep added to their short-temperedness, and Gourry had already had to stop Lina from casting her Dragon Slave twice.

Their food supply had run out after the third day, and they'd had to detour through a town to buy more. That had been the only night that they'd been able to find an inn to sleep in.

Lina had wanted to share a room with Gourry, but knew that for herself, at least, it would be too much of a temptation. "Not yet, Gourry." She'd said to him when they were alone in the girls' room while Amelia was out. "We'll share a room once we're married."

Gourry had looked disappointed, but compliant. "Okay, Lina."

"Now kiss me good night."

He brightened. "Okay, Lina!" he said, and obeyed enthusiastically.

There were some bright points. Sunshine had proven helpful, as the horse willingly carried anyone (except Zelgadis, of course) who needed a rest, and Shiran's hunting skills became prized after the first time she'd brought a large tuupa rodent to Zelgadis. "Why didn't we think of having her hunt for us before?" Lina had asked as they gathered around the fire to wait for the rare delicacy to cook.

Zelgadis had merely shrugged. "I don't know if she'll do it on command, but we can try to make her understand what we're asking of her."

"She's smart; I'm _sure_ she'll learn quickly," Amelia had added with a bit of her usual enthusiasm, even though Lina had known that the princess was not enamored of this particular type of violence.

Shiran had proven to be an excellent hunter, providing several small animals for each evening's meal. "She'd sure be a great help to me and Gourry. Are you _sure_ you want to keep her locked up in that stuffy old palace, Amelia?" Lina had wheedled, and then pouted when Amelia had given her a firm 'yes'.

Xellos' gem had helped during their brief bubble flights, which the three mages had taken turns casting, and thankfully Sunshine had quickly gotten used to taking 'naps' that resulted in her waking up somewhere completely different from when she'd fallen asleep. None of them enjoyed the rides, as the inside of the Rei Wing bubble quickly became overbearingly hot and humid, and all of them had to watch out that Sunshine didn't roll over in her sleep and crush one of them.

Lina had overheard a quiet conversation between Zelgadis and Amelia one night as they all lay together by the snapping yellow bonfire. "Amelia, what happens if we don't make it in time?"

"They'll designate someone else as the heir--from one of the lord-families of Seyrune. Someone who would be considered more reliable than a princess who can't even be bothered to show up at her own wedding." Her tone was uncharacteristically bitter, showing the tremendous strain she was feeling, and Lina felt her own resolve stiffen.

They _had_ to get Amelia there in time!

Toward the end of the journey, as their anxiety spiked they'd begun using the bubble for longer periods of time to pass over large settlements that were in their way, and finally, on the seventh morning, they'd passed a town that Amelia recognized as being one day from Seyrune.

They had spent most of the last day crammed into the small bubble, only dropping down every now and then to get some fresh air and to give all of them a chance to relieve themselves and stretch their legs. Amelia had become increasingly withdrawn and distressed as the day had progressed, but as the sun dropped down to just above the horizon……

"We _made_ it." Lina sat back in her chair, a small (for her) stack of empty plates in front of her, a broad, satisfied smile on her face. "We were going crazy, thinking we'd get here just in time for the sun to set, but thanks to you, Phil, we ought to have enough time to do the spell the Oracle gave Zel and _then…"_

She turned to look smugly at Zelgadis and Amelia, who both blushed a little, but just then Gourry muttered, "Gee, you _still_ take longer to explain things than anybody I know…"

"What was that, Gourry?" she said sharply, ready to deck him, but she was floored by his anxious response.

"Nothing, dear."

She blinked at him, a warm red blush covering her face at his first verbal endearment toward her, and then huffed and turned back to Phil. _Where did that come from? _She didn't see Zelgadis' slow wink in Gourry's direction.

"So you see, Phil, we _do _have a cure for Zel, but we're going to need some help to cast it. Where's Filia?"

Phil blinked. "Miss Filia? …She's not here. Was she supposed to attend?"

Amelia sat up straight. _"What? _But I--but I--I sent her an _invitation!"_

Her voiced lifted into a familiar dismayed wail, one that Zelgadis had not heard for a long time.

Instinctively he leaned toward her to comfort her, but then he stopped, watching with growing pride as she squared her shoulders and composed herself, setting her lips in a firm line.

She took a deep breath and said, "All right. Then I will do it."

Abruptly a shaft of fear drove through him as Zelgadis realized what she meant. "No!"

All of them pinned him with their eyes. _"Yes, _Zelgadis," Lina snarled, her manner indicating that she was itching for an excuse to Dragon Slave him, but he was beyond caring.

"I can't lose her now--"

There was a soft knock on the door, and everyone went silent. Phil had explained during Lina's long-winded story that not many people had been told exactly _why_ Amelia had been delaying her wedding, nor why she had not been seen for a month, so every time a servant had brought more food, they had waited until the heavy wooden door closed before Lina had resumed her narration, just in case.

"Prince Philionel? Is everything all right?" came a soft voice.

The big man's face lightened. "Yes, my boy; come in!"

Amelia exchanged puzzled glances with the others. None of them had ever heard him speak to a servant in quite such a glad manner before.

The door opened and a slender young man slipped through it and turned to push it closed. "I was in the paddock when a servant arrived to tell me that Miss Amelia had finally returned, so I went back to my room to change my clothes…"

As the heavy door closed with a low _boom, _the youth turned around and Amelia recognized Kerrin. His fluffy red-brown hair had grown a little longer and he had acquired a cute sprinkling of freckles across his nose and cheeks as if he had been outdoors a lot, but he still had the same sweet smile that she remembered, the smile that had prompted her to choose him as her official fiance before she'd left.

"How are you, Miss Amelia?" the young man asked, looking at her with those warm brown eyes.

Amelia was struck dumb for a moment as she fought with the desire to leap up and hug him like an old friend, for all that she had only met him once before. _It's because he looks so much like Zelgadis--but I must remember, he's _not. _He's someone who has the power to keep me and Zelgadis apart._

She opened her mouth to answer him, already trying to think of a way to ask whether Kerrin planned to force her to marry him, but just then the youth made a wordless sound of shock. She watched a stricken look passed over his face. He was staring at Zelgadis.

Amelia and the others looked back and forth between the two, watching as the chimera's face also grew pained. "Rin." His voice was almost a whisper.

The young man licked his lips, and in a voice equally as soft, murmured, "Li? Li, is that you?"

****

Author's Notes: Sound familiar? You might want to reread chapter 12, where Amelia first meets Kerrin.

The joke Phil tells Kerrin is from a book called Callahan's Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson, one of my favorite authors in the world. I changed the quote a bit--I had Phil say 'researcher' instead of 'xenobiologist' since I doubt that that term would be used in the Slayers world. Go check it out--there's all sorts of clever quandaries mixed in wacky fun and heart-breaking drama--and some adult situations, for those of you who mind. Mr. Robinson has a very unique way of looking at the world; his stories make you _think._

****

Slayers Otaku-Girl asks: Hey, I was wondering, don't you think that Amelia would have fell in love with Zel sooner than the incident with Hellmaster and Sairaag?

She liked him a lot before then, but that incident--where she gets knocked on the head and Zel carries her--was the first time she really realized that she was in love with him.


	78. Chapter 78: Zelgadis' Past

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Only Stone on the Outside

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a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG for mild language

Note: guiolin-- A stringed instrument like a cross between a violin and a guitar. Pronounced gee-oh-linn, with the 'g' as in 'great'. Accent on the first syllable.

Philionel -- fil-yon-ell

Chapter Seventy-Eight: Zelgadis' Past

"That's Zelgadis, not Li," Gourry piped up helpfully, not noticing the tension in the room.

Lina didn't even bother to hit him, too busy watching the face of the young man in front of them turn red and then crumple as if he was about to burst into tears. "LI!" he cried, and darted across the room just as the stone man lurched up out of his chair, knocking it to the floor with a thud.

All of them watched in shock as the small, slender auburn-haired young man threw his arms around the taller chimera, who did not attempt to evade the hug, although his own arms stayed by his sides.

Shiran growled, rising to her feet, but instantly subsided as Amelia whispered, "Hush." The large dragonwolf cocked her head and sniffed at this new person, her emerald eyes glowing curiously.

"What's going on?" Lina asked the room in general, and received bewildered shrugs.

Amelia watched the heartwarming scene in front of her, feeling her eyes start to fill. The youth was embracing Zelgadis like a long-lost relative… Suddenly she gasped and stood up, nearly knocking her chair over as Zelgadis had. _Can it be?_

The same long, slim bodies, the same delicate features, the same fluffy hair-- _Could Kerrin be Zelgadis' brother? _She found herself breathing hard, too astonished to realize that she'd been holding her breath.

A loud pounding from behind the door brought everyone alert. "Sire, are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Philionel said hastily, still staring at the two men as Kerrin finally released the chimera and stepped back a pace.

All of them were standing now, moving away from the table to study the new arrival.

Gourry squinted, and then commented, "Is it me, or do those two look alike?"

Kerrin's face worked, and he bit his lip. "Li--where have _you_ been all this time? I thought you were dead." His voice cracked in a way that brought a lump to Amelia's throat.

The stone man's blue-green eyes shimmered, and then he dropped his gaze. "I'm sorry… but I…couldn't bear to let you see what I'd become."

The young man's face took on a look of compassion. "Oh, Li…"

Lina had had enough. She pounded her fist on the table, making the dishes rattle. _"Hold _it! What's with this 'Li' business? I thought your name was Zelgadis." She turned a suspicious look on the chimera, who flushed and held out his hands placatingly.

"It is. But Rin here has always called me 'Li'."

Kerrin smiled, his tone affectionate as he explained, "When I first met Zelgadis I was so little I couldn't say his name properly. The others called him Zelly, and the only part of _that_ that would come out was '…li'. He laughed and told me that that was good enough, and that in exchange, he would call me Rin."

Amelia clasped her hands together. "How sweet!… But then, you aren't related? I thought you must be."

"We're cousins," Zelgadis answered, and when Kerrin turned to look at her as well, it still took her breath away, to see two men who looked so alike, in spite of their differences in coloring, which she noticed far more than she noticed the differences caused by the chimera's curse.

"I see," she murmured, mesmerized.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me that Zelgadis is your cousin?" Phil suddenly asked.

"I didn't know, sir. No one mentioned his name, or that Miss Amelia knew him… Oh!" The youth turned to face her. "Miss Amelia--you--is _Li _the man you told me about at the ball? The man who was cursed; the one you went to save after your bracelet lit up and…" His voice faltered. "He's…the one you want to marry, isn't he?"

Zelgadis watched as the his cousin paled, his freckles showing like flecks of cinnamon over his nose. A sudden, ugly suspicion had sprung into his mind, and he asked quietly, "What are you doing here, Rin?"

"I'm…I'm Miss Amelia's fiance."

"Her _what?" _Lina's screech was loud enough to alarm the guards, but this time there was no outcry from them. All of the palace guards were used to her by now.

Zelgadis eyed the young man in front of him. "So." _My rival is--_Kerrin?

"What are you doing with a fiance?" Lina demanded, and Amelia explained how her father had required her to choose one before she'd left, just in case.

The others began asking questions all at once, creating a confusing babble of background noise that Zelgadis found easy to shut out as he studied his opponent. _He's grown--the last time I saw him, he was twelve years old. He cried when I left…but he was already showing more promise with the sword than I ever had. I'm sure he's improved since then. _

Lina suddenly noticed the chimera's stare slowly becoming colder, more like his old 'heartless' persona, and realized what was happening. _He's psyching himself up to take out the competition--his own _cousin! _I can't _believe _this guy…_

She clenched her hands into fists, ready and willing to let out some of the stress from the past week by giving the chimera a good pounding, when suddenly she noticed that Zelgadis was still wearing the gem that Xellos had given them. Her face twisted into a grim smile. _Even better._ "Hey, Zel," she called. "How did you get along with Rin when you were growing up?"

She had the satisfaction of watching the stone man's face twitch as he fought to hold onto his 'hired mercenary' mentality, but eventually he answered, "Rin was my only childhood friend. The only person I could open up to, confide in. We were like brothers. To everyone else I was a disappointment--small, not particularly strong, only average with a sword…"

Kerrin protested, "But you were always the fastest runner, and great with horses. You won so many competitions! You always had so much _drive; _I had such a hard time keeping up with you."

Zelgadis looked at him, surprised.

The youth turned to the rest of them and continued, "I was six years younger, and I idolized Li. I wanted to be _just_ like him--brave and smart and fierce and honorable… We were always together. He gave me my first sword lesson."

"Mine, too," Amelia piped up. "He's a good teacher."

Zelgadis met his cousin's gaze as the memories of all the times they had shared together--both good and bad--began to flow through his mind, bringing a rush of emotion. _I'd forgotten how much I cared about that kid…_

Lina asked, "You didn't have _any _other friends?"

"No," answered the stone man after a brief hesitation. "My other cousins were rivals. You see, out of all of my relatives, _I _was the chosen heir to Rezo's fortune. I looked the most like him, and I had the most aptitude for magic."

Lina was shaking her head. "Somehow I can't see Rezo as a family man."

Zelgadis shrugged. "He wasn't always insane, from what I've heard. As a young man he was quite active in family affairs, until his obsession with regaining his sight consumed him…"

Kerrin looked up at his cousin, his eyes wide. _"Insane? _Then…what Miss Amelia said about…"

The chimera gave his cousin a somber look. "Yes. He was the one who cursed me."

Zelgadis felt a warm rush of appreciation for his tender-hearted cousin as the boy said, "It can't be… Why would he _do_ such a thing?"

Lina felt sorry for the kid. "He needed Zel's help to find something that he thought would help cure his eyes, and he was desperate."

She traded looks with Zelgadis and Amelia and each of them nodded. _No need to tell the kid that Rezo was possessed by a piece of Shabranigdo, _Lina thought.

Zelgadis continued, "By the time I was born, Rezo was almost never seen any more, so the details of running the family had been taken over by several of my older male relatives. A lot was expected of me, but I didn't measure up to what they thought the future head of the family ought to be like, so I was scorned by most people."

"Not by everyone!" Kerrin exclaimed. "Not by me. And what about Zolf and Rodimus?"

"I said, most people." Zelgadis gave the younger man a look of mild reproof, and he blushed. Amelia saw a bit of how the their relationship might have been in the past, the younger boy enthusiastic, the older boy teaching, and reprimanding him when necessary.

"Most of my male cousins looked for every opportunity to humiliate me, hoping the elders would disregard Rezo's wishes and appoint one of them as the heir, so I learned to avoid people at an early age. I couldn't trust any of them not to stab me in the back--some of them literally. Zolf and Rodimus were loyal servants of Rezo's line, and it was they who handled most of my education and training--and protection, especially when I was younger."

"What about your parents?" Lina asked.

"Both of them died when I was a baby."

"Oh, that's so sad…" Amelia gave him a melting look of compassion, and he felt his heart soften.

"So…you already have a position to take up once you become human again?" Lina asked.

Amelia turned worried sapphire eyes on him, and he responded instantly. "No." He watched her expression reflect her relief, and then her dismay as he added, "They don't need me. They never did. If I went back now the only result would be the equivalent of a civil war."

"Oh." Amelia looked as if she wanted to hug him, to comfort him, and Zelgadis gave her a small, sad smile, acknowledging her empathy over his estrangement with his family.

"As the time neared for me to take over, I discovered that I had no taste for leading such a family. Rezo hadn't been seen in ten years, and the elders favored several of my cousins over me--I even overheard them say once that it would have been better if I had died as a child."

"No…" Amelia put her hands to her cheeks, her dark-blue eyes glistening with distress.

He met her eyes for a moment, smiling in what he hoped was a reassuring manner, then went on, "I decided that I had to do something to make them respect me, so I left the estate at eighteen, vowing to return once I had become a master swordsman. The others only scoffed at my aspirations, but after traveling for months I met up with Rezo and listened to his offer…"

His friends looked at him with sad, serious expressions, knowing what had resulted from that incident.

"After I was cursed, I was too ashamed to go back. I knew that most of my relatives would just sneer and say that I'd gotten what I deserved. Part of me wanted to return just to teach them a lesson--to get back at them for all the things they'd done to me--but it was the thought of facing Kerrin that kept me away. I _had_ been audacious, brash, unthinking--and I didn't want him to see the results of that arrogance. I…couldn't face disappointing him. It was better to let him believe I was training with Rezo…"

Kerrin said, "I always looked forward to your letters, but after the last one, they just stopped. I didn't know what had happened to you…and the others said you couldn't be with Rezo because no one had seen him for ten years; that he was probably dead…"

With a jolt, Zelgadis saw tears brimming in his young cousin's eyes. "I was afraid you were dead, Li… I'd almost given up all hope." The young man sniffed and rubbed a hand over his eyes in a gesture so familiar that Zelgadis closed his eyes for a moment, engulfed by the memory of a younger Kerrin with tears streaming from his eyes as he waved a final goodbye from the edge of their village.

__

He asked me what he was going to do without me there to look after him, and I told him that he was strong enough now to look after himself. '"Practice your swordsmanship,"' I said, '"and when I return we'll have a match to see who's improved the most. Do your best!"' And he wiped his eyes and managed to smile and promised to practice hard every day. The chimera dropped his gaze, his shoulders slumping as he recalled, _Still, I felt really guilty that I'd left him on his own against our rotten cousins, even though most of them treated him cordially enough. I'd always been there for him, protecting him…_

Zelgadis' gaze snapped up in surprise as Kerrin again reached for the chimera, placing his hands on the taller man's shoulders, his voice choked with emotion. "I'm so _glad_ to see you, Li, whatever you look like!"

As the stone man stood there, his teal eyes shimmering with feeling as he looked into his cousin's earnest brown eyes, he realized, _I can't do it. I can't challenge him to a duel. Not Kerrin; not my friend. I can't kill the one person who's stood faithfully by my side, believing in me, looking up to me… We practiced the sword and the guiolin together, dreaming of the day when we'd be minstrels, or a famous mercenary team. He's a little brother to me, and by the looks of him, he hasn't changed at all. He still needs me to look after him…_

Gently he pushed the young man's arms away, his face grave as a powerful surge of protectiveness rose within him. _And _as_ an older brother, it's my responsibility to make sure Kerrin prospers. I'm not sure how he ended up being Amelia's fiance…_

He stopped breathing, suddenly realizing that the solution to all of his problems was right in front of him. The stone man had to brace himself against the sudden pain that hit him like Filia's mace._ He'll be much happier here in Seyrune, safe from those arrogant bastards, and…being married to Amelia. And Amelia will be safe, too. _He closed his eyes and swallowed hard, fighting the urge to weep.

She'll never agree to it. I should have said that I do_ need to return to my family. I know what they're going to say, and I don't want to hear it. It's my _fate_ to spend the rest of my days as a chimera. It _has_ to be. Why else would _Amelia_--the very person I most want to be human for--be the only one who can perform the spell? The _only_ one who has to take the risk of dying or going insane? And _why_, of all people, does _Kerrin_ have to be my rival? I would almost think it's part of Shabranigdo's curse--to allow me to achieve happiness only by destroying those people closest to me. And I won't do that!_

"Li? Are you all right?"

He opened his eyes to see Kerrin giving him a worried look. "Nothing. I'm…just glad to see you too, Kerrin," he said, calling upon all the years of practiced stoicism to keep his face calm and his voice steady, though his heart was breaking. _I know my duty now. I see it clearly. Just one last thing to check, and if I'm right… _"So…you're Amelia's fiance."

The youth glanced at her, and then looked away, blushing. "Not really. Miss Amelia only chose me because she had to pick somebody before she went to go look for you. Her bracelet lit up with this bright light and she said you were in trouble…"

Zelgadis nodded. "I was, but fortunately Lina was there to save my hide."

He caught the redhead's surprised expression at his unexpected praise as Kerrin turned to Lina and bowed his head, his voice fervent as he said, "Thank you, Miss Lina, for saving my cousin's life."

The diminutive sorceress developed a hint of pink over her nose as she said, "You're--you're welcome."

Zelgadis noticed her slight stutter. "I see you've become quite the charmer with the ladies, Rin." He put a note of amusement in his tone, although in truth he was far from amused.__

Kerrin put a hand behind his head, grinning sheepishly. "No, not really."

The stone man tried to sound casual. "Oh, by the way, speaking of Amelia's ward bracelets… We discovered something even _more_ remarkable about them on the journey back here."

"What is it?" Kerrin asked, his face brightening with curiosity.

Zelgadis suppressed a pang of nostalgia at seeing that familiar expression. "It turns out that her bracelets were made by one of her ancestresses in order to find the best matches for the royal children."

"Really? How do they work?"

With a start, Lina suddenly realized what he was doing and she hastily stepped in between them. "Uh, well, we _really_ don't have time to go into all of that right now--we've got to start work on Zelgadis' c--"

"Lina." Zelgadis drew himself to his full height and stared her straight in the eyes. "I think it's only fair to give Kerrin a chance. He _is_ her official fiance. If the Spheres say he isn't right for her, that would give him a way to back out of the situation with grace." _I hope she doesn't remember that Phil didn't announce who Amelia's fiance is._

"But--" she exchanged unhappy glances with Amelia, while Gourry looked on in puzzlement.

Just then Phil took a step forward, looking thunderstruck. "Are you trying to tell me that those ward bracelets can actually help choose the next ruler?"

"Right." Zelgadis nodded and avoided looking at Amelia, not wanting to see the distress in her eyes. "All you do is have your prospective match wear one of the bracelets--they're actually called Star Spheres, by the way--and have the princess wear the other one. If your hand turns green, you're not a good match."

Kerrin let out a snort of surprised laughter. _"Green?"_

His laughter always was_ contagious,_ Zelgadis remembered, watching as the others began to smile, reacting to the youth's amusement.

Before any of them could interfere, he reached behind himself and pulled his canteen around to where he could reach it, and yanked the Sphere free, snapping the twine that held the cap to the bottle. "Here." He seized one of the young man's hands and slid the pink cloth band over his fingers.

"Hey!" protested the boy.

Amelia and Lina both let out exclamations of protest, but it was too late. The bracelet was on--and Kerrin's hand was still normal-colored.

The entire room went silent, waiting. Long moments passed, and nothing happened.

"No…" Lina breathed, glancing at the stricken princess.

Amelia felt her eyes stinging. _Why did you do that, Zelgadis? Don't you _want_ to marry me?_

Kerrin looked puzzled. "Wait a minute. Wasn't my hand supposed to turn green? Is it working right?"

Amelia suddenly came to life. "Maybe they're not!" She snatched the Sphere from the youth's hand and grabbed the nearest man's hand, Gourry's, sliding it on over his large hand with difficulty. Instantly there was a crackling sound, and small ragged lines of yellow light appeared, flowing over the man's hand like miniature lightning. Slowly, his hand discolored, becoming a dull grayish-green. "Hey!" Gourry protested, too late.

Lina snorted, then began to laugh. Amelia covered her mouth, but soon gave in to giggles as well, and then Kerrin began to cough into his hand, his face turning red as he tried to hide his mirth.

"So…does that mean that either Kerrin _or_ Zelgadis would make a good husband for Amelia?" asked Phil, scratching his shaggy black head. At this, everyone froze, staring at the evidence with bulging eyes.

Slowly, grimly, the stone man nodded. "Just as I thought. There _is_ no such thing as a 'one true love'." A tiny sound of distress came from Amelia's direction, and Zelgadis dared not look at her. He went on, "That means that my cousin _also_ has all the right qualities needed to make you happy."

"No!" Amelia protested, then her innate honesty made her say, "…Well, yes, technically, I suppose so, but I don't _want_ him!" Her eyes widened as she realized how that sounded and hastily she turned to the younger man, waving her arms in a panic and babbling, "I'm sorry Kerrin-I didn't mean to insult you-I'm sure that you're a really great guy and all that and I know that a lot of girls would consider themselves lucky to have you but it's just that…I've already made my choice." She put a hand behind her head and laughed from embarrassment, feeling her face blazing. "I made it a long time ago."

Gourry was looking dubiously at his green hand. "Does this stuff wash off?"

Amelia gasped as she realized what she had done. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mister Gourry!" She reached out and slid the Star Sphere off of his hand. "Don't worry, it'll fade…eventually."

"Okay." Gourry grinned. "So does this mean I've been rejected?"

Amelia sweatdropped. "Uh, not that I don't like you, Mister Gourry, but you're just not my type--I mean, you would make a bad king--oh, that's not what I meant to say!" Again she blushed, and everyone chuckled, more as a release from the tension than out of any real humor.

"It's just as well. I'm already committed," said Gourry, looking at Lina with a smile, and she blushed.

"Anyway, Zelgadis, it doesn't matter what the Sphere says, Amelia's already decided--" Lina broke off. "Zel?"

All heads in the room swiveled, looking for the chimera--but it was too late. The door at the other end of the room was open, and Xellos' gem lay on the floor nearby. Zelgadis was gone.

****

Author's Notes: I hope this turnaround isn't too out of character for Zel. I had to make sure Kerrin was someone whose best interests Zelgadis would put ahead of his own. Only for someone Zelgadis truly loved--a little brother--would he give up the happiness he had more or less decided to shoot for. Of course, the fact that he was still undecided about letting Amelia perform the spell helped contribute to his decision.

Poor Zel--I feel like I'm torturing the guy. Let's just say that this is the final test of the love between the chimera and his princess.

I've been having trouble with my computer lately, so I may not be able to post on time next week. I'm going to be trying to figure out what's wrong with it, and thus I may be unable to go online for a while. Wish me luck!


	79. Chapter 79: Kerrin's Fate Xellos

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG for mild language

Chapter Seventy-Nine: Kerrin's Fate / Xellos

Gourry asked, "Hey, where'd he go?"

"Don't tell me he decided that Kerrin would make a better match for Amelia?" Furious, Lina voiced the thoughts of everyone in the room. "If Zel left now, she'd have no choice but to marry him, wouldn't she?"

"No!" cried Amelia as tears began to stream down her cheeks, and a sudden deep, throbbing ache began in her chest. She clutched her fists reflexively over her heart. "We _have_ to cast the spell and cure him by midnight so we can be married! He _promised!"_

Lina gave her a sharp look. "Did he, Amelia? He actually _agreed_ to marry you?"

Amelia faltered. "Well, no…not in so many words…"

__

"Damn it!" Lina roared, her ruby eyes flashing fury. "I should've _known _he'd do something like this! That jerk! You should have made him promise, Amelia!"

Her shoulders hunched as the searing heartache increased. "I know…" she wailed.

Instantly the red-haired sorceress turned contrite. "Well, come on, guys, we've got to split up and look for him."

Amelia sniffled, and swallowed hard to hold back the wails that wanted to burst forth from her spasming throat. "Sh-shiran can track him."

Lina nodded, turned to leave, and then hesitated. "Listen, Amelia, I want you to stay here, okay?"

"W-what? But why?"

Her tone was pure acid. "I've got a few _things_ I want to say to that arrogant, stubborn jerk of a martyr, things I should have said a long time ago. I need you to wait here. Don't worry--he won't get away from me. If I have to, I'll be glad to knock him out and hogtie him." The fiery-haired sorceress' voice took on that crazy, frenetic edge of mayhem that made people back away from her. "…In fact, maybe I ought to do it anyway, just to make sure he doesn't pull another fast one before tonight."

Kerrin stared at the tiny sorceress in shock. _I thought she was his friend. She's…sort of scary…_

Shocked, Amelia snapped out of her grief, spurred on by her instant concern for her beloved's welfare. "Wait, Miss Lina!" Amelia grabbed onto the petite sorceress' black cape as she turned to leave the room. "I don't want you to force him."

"But Amelia!"

An embarrassing mental picture of the stone man being bodily dragged back by the leg by a tiny seething sorceress came to the princess' mind. "He has to _want_ to come," she said fervently. "I told you before, if we _force_ his cure on him, he'll resent that we took the choice away from him, and then even if he _did _marry me, he'd feel like he was forced into that, too! He'd spend the rest of his life resenting it--and me."

Abruptly she dropped the cape, lowering her head so that her eyes were shadowed by her bangs. "Anyway…maybe he really doesn't want to marry me."

Lina's mouth dropped open. "What are you talking about? I _know _he loves you! Because of--" She cut herself off before she accidentally mentioned the gem.

Amelia smiled slightly, but did not raise her eyes. "I know he does. He wouldn't lie about that, but…maybe he doesn't want to marry the Seyrune princess. Maybe he doesn't want to _be_ a ruler. Or maybe--" her tone became questioning, reaching for answers, "maybe he doesn't want to have Daddy as a father-in-law?"

"What?" exclaimed the big man, looking hurt.

Kerrin felt a bit indignant on the prince's behalf after spending so much quality time getting to know the man, but because of that he also understood Miss Amelia's comment.

Amelia smiled fondly up at him, although her eyes were sad. "Sorry, Daddy, but you _can_ be a little…overwhelming, you know?"

Lina's face was a mixture of fury and frustration. _"Damn you!" _she cursed the absent chimera at the top of her lungs, clenching her fists.

"Well, _that's_ a fine greeting for an old comrade," came a familiar light voice.

"Xellos?" Lina stopped in mid-tantrum, her eyes lighting up. _"Just _the mazoku I wanted to see!"

__

Mazoku? A jolt of fear hit Kerrin in the stomach. He stared wide-eyed at the seemingly ordinary-looking purple-haired man who was wearing some kind of priest's outfit.

"I came to pick up the gem I loaned you, Miss Lina."

"Oh, yeah," she remembered, "it's right there." She pointed to the floor where Zelgadis had left the blue gem, and watched as the mazoku went over to pick it up. "So what's the deal with--" Suddenly she clamped her mouth shut, noticing the others' curious stares. _I want to know if I was right about the gem's powers, but I don't want it to get back to Zelgadis that he didn't confess his love to Amelia on his own. Even though the jerk deserves it; _Amelia_ doesn't need to know…_

She was saved from having to finish her sentence as Amelia knelt down near Shiran. The others were used to the lavender dragonwolf, but both Philionel and Kerrin drew in involuntary breaths of fear at the sight of the small princess kneeling at the feet of the huge beast, literally under the animal's chin.

The contrast was astonishing. One was a huge, sharp-fanged beast, the other a petite, well-formed young woman with brave, spirited deep blue eyes, thick, shiny raven hair, and a (normally) bold, vivacious manner. At the moment, she was radiating distress, which stirred an unaccustomed feeling of protectiveness in Kerrin. He gave the animal that was hovering over her careful scrutiny, ready to move if he saw so much as a hint of aggressiveness on Shiran's part.

The wolflike creature, the size of a pony, had a slender, gracefully tapered head, very long, thin, upstanding ears that curved ever so slightly toward each other at the tips, and a well-balanced, muscular body, with long, strong legs that looked capable of carrying her all day long if Kerrin was any judge, after his experience with horses.

Her tail was long and fluffy, carried in a slight upward curve, and her coat was thick and lustrous, white with light purple at the tips, which gave the hair the 'lavender' cast. It was longer and fuller on her neck, chest, belly, and tail, and a fluffy ridge of darker purple hair rose from between her ears, reminding Kerrin of a dragon's crest, down the back of her neck to the base of her shoulders. The darker color continued down her spine to the base of her superb tail. Her nose, tail tip, and the tips of her ears were a medium purple color that matched her crest.

Shiran's eyes were especially unusual; glowing green, with no black pupils, only highlights where the light reflected off of them. This effect reminded Kerrin of a perfectly round jewel, a shining gem, the rich, vibrant color of new grass. As he studied those eyes, he realized that Shiran was looking down at Amelia with eager devotion, ready to do whatever was asked of her.

He found himself smiling. _What a magnificent creature._

The princess commanded softly, "Shiran, find Zelgadis!"

The lavender tail wagged once, and then Shiran sprang away toward the open door at the far end of the room.

"Hey, wait up!" Lina dashed after the rapidly retreating dragonwolf.

Amelia called after her, "Remember, Miss Lina--_no_ death threats or dragging him back by force. He has until midnight tonight to decide! I'm counting on you!"

Lina growled audibly, then yelled over her shoulder, "Listen, Xellos, stay here until I come back, okay?"

"But Miss Lina--"

"Hey, Lina, wait for me!" Gourry dashed out of the door after her, his yellow hair flying, just before it closed with a boom.

For a long minute, no one moved. Kerrin was a bit overwhelmed at how fast everything had changed, intensely curious about the mazoku that had appeared in their midst, and rather intimidated by the tiny but fierce Lina Inverse. _No wonder they call her all those names, like Bandit Killer and Seyrune's Destroyer. I'd hate to be on her bad side!_

He was also bothered by something else. After a long minute, Kerrin ran a hand through his auburn hair, turning it into a thatch of gravity-defying wisps, and approached the beautiful blue-eyed princess. "Miss Amelia…" he began, "That wasn't the Li I remember. My cousin _never_ gave up on something he really cared about… I don't understand. He loves you, and you love him, right? You say you can cure him, so there's no real barrier preventing him from marrying you, is there? Why would he suddenly decide to give up now?"

Amelia gazed sadly at the troubled young man, her shoulders drooping, her little face growing so desolate that he instantly regretted his query. "A lot has happened to him since you knew him, I'm afraid," she said quietly. "He's spent years slowly being eaten away by self-recrimination and hate--of Rezo, of all the people in the world who are ignorant and treat him as an outsider, of his own body…"

__

Oh, Li…

The terrible, forlorn look on Miss Amelia's face left no doubt as to the truth of her words. She took a slow, deep breath and let it out in a sigh of heartfelt woe. "It took a long, long time before he accepted my love. I still see it in his eyes, this soft, bewildered look of wonder--wonder that someone could come to love him, in spite of his appearance."

Kerrin's soft brown eyes were puzzled. "You told me once that you like how he looks."

She flashed him a quick smile. "Oh, I _do! _I think he's the _handsomest_ man in the world…but he won't believe me. He still feels…unworthy, I suppose." Her face fell. "When he found out I had a fiance, it really hurt him. He felt I'd betrayed him…so I made sure not to say anything more about you until now. That's why he was so surprised to see who you were."

"Oh." _He didn't look glad to see me…now I know why. Poor Li…he went away with dreams of such glory, only to spend years being treated even worse than before. And now that he's finally managed to achieve some hope for a bright, happy future, I come along and ruin it all._

The shadow in her eyes darkened. "Zelgadis was afraid that you would refuse to release me from my promise to marry you, since you're my official fiance…"

"I…have to admit I was thinking about it…" he blurted out, suddenly consumed by shame and guilt. All of their jaws dropped as they stared at him, and Kerrin turned a deep red and put a hand behind his head, "but only because it's so awful at home. But now that I know that it's _Li_ that you love, Miss Amelia…"

Phil asked, "What's so 'awful' about your home? You're a prince, aren't you?"

He sighed. "Not exactly… See, when Li disappeared the others all began fighting over who would take his position. Two of our cousins were killed in a duel, and of the rest, I'm the one with the most magical talent. I never would have dreamed that the elders would name _me_ as the next head of the family, but I couldn't do anything about it. They decided to send me away to school to keep me safer from threats."

He turned and gave Amelia a small smile. "When I returned, I was allowed to attend the balls of neighboring kingdoms to strengthen our ties. See, we're not a royal family, or even a very large one; we just happen to produce a lot of strong mages, which _some_ people in my family believe entitles us to high status."

He frowned for a moment, but then his face grew softer as he gazed at Amelia. "Anyway, that's where I first saw you. You were like a bright, shining star, someone who truly believed in justice and equality for all, not just for the higher classes, and I really grew to admire you. I was so happy that I was allowed to attend your betrothal balls, and I'm even happier that I was able to work up the courage to ask you to dance."

His sweet, slightly sad smile, so like Zelgadis', made Amelia's heart go out to him. _Poor Kerrin… If I didn't have Zelgadis, I'm sure I could have loved you…_

"One of the best moments of my life was when you asked me to marry you," the young man went on, "and living here in Seyrune has been a wonderful dream, learning the ways of your people. Your father always made time to spend with me…"

He gazed into her beautiful sapphire eyes, and had to look away at the compassion he saw in them. "But now that I know it's _Li _whom you love, it wouldn't be right for me to try to force you to keep your promise. It wouldn't be _just, _as you say. You wouldn't be happy, and so neither would I. And…" his voice grew thick with emotion, "Li deserves to have someone like you, to bring some light into his life. He was--never really happy at home…"

__

Don't think about losing her. Think about your cousin. Li. You've finally_ got him back, after all these years. You can probably visit him, and watch as the years with Miss Amelia teach him how to smile. Or even laugh. I was the only person to ever see Li laugh--the only one he could afford to relax around. I wonder if Miss Amelia can manage it? If anyone can, she can. _He remembered something she had once told him. _She said she wanted to be my friend, and that's nearly as good. I'm not cut out to rule, anyway… I wish I didn't have to go home after this is over._

Amelia felt her eyes fill with tears, her heart torn between joy for herself and Zelgadis, and sorrow for this poor, noble boy. "Oh, Kerrin…thank you," she whispered, her lower lip trembling, then turned to her father. "Oh, Daddy, isn't there anything we can do for him?"

"I don't know, Amelia…" The big man sounded nearly as upset as him daughter. "He belongs to another kingdom, and I have no authority to do anything about his situation. I would be happy to have him if his family would agree to let him go, but somehow I don't think they'll be willing to, after they already lost their first heir."

He's right. They won't. Kerrin made a small sound of negation.

Amelia felt her eyes begin to fill again. _Why does this have to be so hard? _she thought half in anger, half in grief. _ Can't we all be happy for once?_

Prince Phil had closed his eyes, his face pensive, rubbing his chin with his fingers. Suddenly the big man let out a shout. "Wait! If you marry Zelgadis, then Kerrin will _automatically _become family."

__

What? A burst of joy swelled in his heart, and Kerrin found himself beaming up at the prince. _I hadn't thought of that! It'll be easy to get permission to visit here from the elders…the elders…the family… _He began to feel the first twinges of worry."But that means _all_ of my family will become your relatives. Is that a good thing?"

"That would give you a lot more social status than before," Phil explained. "Some people base their respect for others on status. That's very shallow of them, of course…but do you think your family might be willing to move to Seyrune? They would have the status of being related to the ruling family, as long as they obey Seyrune's laws, and if you lived here, we could appoint you to a position at the palace."

The youth's eyes widened as he took in the sight of Amelia in all of her justice-glory, a fist raised skyward, her eyes shining like sapphires. "Your family would have more respect for you, and you could take charge of them and lead them out of the deplorable condition their morals have fallen to! Why, if they promised to reform, Zelgadis could even have his family again!" Her sparkling eyes could have been stars themselves.

The young man slowly looked from one face to another, a growing look of wonder on his face as he listened to the father and daughter eagerly planning his future--a future that was brighter than he ever would have dreamed possible.

"So how about it, Kerrin?" Phil suddenly asked him.

Caught by surprise, he stammered, "W-well--to tell you the truth, they're not all _that_ bad… Most of the family is honorable, in their own way. The most unscrupulous ones were the two who managed to kill each other in a duel. Most of the rest are more concerned with status and appearance than anything else--as you guessed--and that's why they were so hard on Li when he was growing up. If we become related to the family of Seyrune--the white magic capital--that would go a long way to mollify them over Li's disappearance. They might even want to reinstate him as head of house."

Amelia smiled and said wryly, "You can guess what Zelgadis would say to that! …But that's not exactly what we meant, Kerrin. How would _you_ feel about moving here and working for your cousin?"

Kerrin's face broke out into a happy beam, his bright brown eyes shining, feeling his heart rapidly growing lighter than it had been for years. "That would be _wonderful, _Miss Amelia."

Philionel's grin matched his. "Well, then, my boy, what kind of work do you like best?"

Kerrin hesitated for only a moment. "Working with horses, sir."

"Horses?" The big man stepped forward and dropped a large hand on the youth's shoulder. "Well, I have a _fine_ stable…why don't we go talk to the stable manager and see what positions are available?"

Amelia smiled at the pair as they left. _It looks as if I may have a new brother. I've never seen Daddy take to someone so quickly._

Xellos had been a silent observer to all of this, but now he hung the gem around his neck and said nonchalantly, "Well, then, I'll be off."

Amelia jumped. "Wait! Where are you going? Miss Lina asked you to stay here!"

"Ah, well…" Sheepishly, he put a hand behind his head.

"Mister Xellos!" she said indignantly.

"I don't have to obey Miss Lina…." He spread his hands. "Why should I help you cure Zelgadis? It's not like I care about your happiness--we mazoku can't bear such a thing. Why would I want to increase something so awful?"

"I'll sing."

"I'll just pop away, then. I never _promised_ Miss Lina that I would stay."

Amelia felt a flash of fear. "Wait! ...Um…um…" She bit her lip, feeling her nerves jangling, and then it hit her. She held up a finger. "I know! If you help us change Zelgadis back to a normal human, he'll be a weaker opponent the next time we have to do battle with each other."

Xellos put a hand to his cheek. "Hmm…you have a point…but not because it would be easier for me to defeat him as a lowly human--I _did_ decimate an entire tribe of holy dragons by myself, you know…"The young woman curled a lip in repugnance at the way the apparent man casually described the deaths of so many living creatures, as Xellos continued merrily, "…but the next time he fights he'll be feeling even more anger, despair and frustration than he does even _normally_--a tasty fare, indeed. All right, Miss Amelia, you've convinced me. Let's get to work on that spell."

Amelia clenched a fist, feeling an odd mixture of disgust at having to work with the capricious mazoku, to whom human beings were nothing more than entertainment or food, and a sudden strong surge of pity for him. _He was created to be the way he is by his mistress, the Beastmaster Metallium. No matter what he does, he can never experience _true_ happiness, only whatever 'satisfaction' mazoku get when they eat people's negative emotions._

He simply obeys orders, like the time he was ordered to follow Miss Lina for Hellmaster Phibrizzo--he only saved our lives because he wouldn't have been able to follow her if she was dead. It truly doesn't matter to him which side wins a battle; it's like marking down the wins and losses in chalk on a blackboard, completely dry, emotionless. But maybe that's why he likes to hang around Miss Lina--if there's one thing she isn't, it's emotionless!

Xellos was looking at her questioningly, and she realized that he was sensing her growing pity of him, and wondering about its cause. She met his gaze, and for some reason this time it was the mazoku who dropped his eyes. "You shouldn't feel compassion for your enemies, Miss Amelia," he said quietly. "Not if you want to live long."

Amelia wondered if she should take that as a threat, but somehow she sensed that it was simply the advice of an ancient being who had seen countless battles. She tilted her head, studying the apparent man as the large blue gem gleamed against his dark cloak. _I don't understand him. Why is he telling me all this? And if mazoku thrive so on death and horror, why should he care?_

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. "Why are you _really_ here, Mister Xellos? Is it because your mistress may have a use for Miss Lina sometime in the future?"

The apparent man opened his eerie pale purple eyes for a moment in surprise. "My, my, Miss Amelia, you're getting more cynical every day! Is it because of Zelgadis' influence, I wonder?"

The young woman flushed slightly, realizing that she might indeed be picking up some of her beloved's mistrustful manner, but then she put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Mister Xellos."

He smiled and waved his hands in an "I surrender' gesture, apparently pleased to have riled her. "To tell you the truth, I haven't asked her, although I wouldn't be surprised if she did. But right now, I'm between assignments so my time is my own, as long as I don't start any major wars. And Miss Lina…intrigues me, I guess. It's rare that someone with so much negative emotion within them also manages to be 'a good person', I suppose. A delightful paradox."

Amelia nodded, satisfied, and would have turned away except for the mazoku's next statement. "Eternal life means eternal boredom, I told her. I got tired of killing humans for sport centuries ago--" Amelia jumped at such a cruel admission, but Xellos didn't seem to notice. "--and started looking for other ways to entertain myself."

Again, the young woman was caught in the mix of disgust for his deeds, and sympathy for his plight. "I get it… We're just game pieces to you, right?"

Xellos gave her an amiable look. "Why, yes, I suppose you could say that."

Amelia crossed her arms._ So he's gotten in the habit of preserving his favorite game pieces for as long as possible. _She was not sure whether or not to be insulted at being called a 'game piece', but finally she shrugged and said blithely, "I can live with that."

Xellos facefaulted.

****

Author's Notes:

I got a cool fanpic of Zel from **Chris **and I want to thank you for it! You asked for my comments and I wrote a long letter, but guess what? I got booted off of AOL right then and thus loss your address, so I can't mail it to you! My email address if you (or anyone else) would like to contact me is on my author's page. FF.net doesn't let you put it in your stories, or I'd list it here.

I decided that Kerrin would call Zelgadis 'Li' instead of 'Mister Li' or 'Li-big brother' as is usual in most Japanese shows because in Slayers they tend to leave out some of the honorifics, and it also indicates just how close a bond the two shared.

Ever notice that Xellos seems positively _cheerful _when someone near him is feeling negative emotions? I figure that's about as close to 'happiness' as a mazoku can come. One of my favorite scenes in Next is where Prince Phil decides to try to jump up to the floating land chunk and doesn't make it. Xellos was tickled--I love how he hides sarcasm in 'innocent' comments-- "Oh, too bad. You almost made it, too!" You could tell he wanted to laugh.

Amelia notices this, and is sort of perplexed--how do you deal with someone who's happiest when you're upset? Her nature is to make those around her happy if she can--and negative emotions are not something you can fake. If she wants to make Xellos happy, she has to let herself be angry or miserable--which just isn't her natural mental state, so she couldn't do it for very long. So should she feel guilty for showering the poor mazoku with joy? It's enough to make an anime character drop to the ground with little whirly things over her eyes.

Another thing I've wondered: Is Greywyrs (or Graywords) Rezo's last name, or did Rezo have a daughter who took the name of her husband? 'Rezo' might not even be his real name, if he took a new name when he began practicing magic, the way some people do. Actually, in the anime and the manga I don't think much was said about Zel's family, so I suppose Rezo could have had a short affair and then left without knowing he'd fathered a child until much later, so that might be why Zel has a different last name, if he does. For some reason I just can't picture 'Rezo Greywyrs' in my head.

My computer still has the same error message. I may have to do a complete systems restore, (I hope not) to get rid of the problem. And since I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to the programming aspects of computers, I hope things go smoothly or I may not be able to update for a while. In any case, I haven't dared to write anything new for two weeks now, so we're going to catch up with where I am now in two more weeks, at chapter 81. And since it takes approximately three weeks to write a chapter, there's going to be a lag between chapters after that. I'll keep you informed, minna-san!


	80. Chapter 80: I'll Knock Some Sense into ...

****

Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG for mild language

Chapter Eighty: I'll Knock Some Sense into Him!

The sky held the lustrous orange glow of sunset as Lina jogged behind Shiran with Gourry at her side, hearing Amelia's directives echo in her head. _'…No death threats or dragging him back by force…' _"How _else_ does she expect me to make him come back?" she fumed.

"What?" Gourry glanced at her, his long blonde hair rippling in front of one eye.

Lina clarified, "Zel's obviously never given up on that crazy idea of his that Amelia's life and sanity are in severe danger if she participates in casting his cure, so what am I gonna say to him that'll make him change his mind _now? _We've all talked until we're blue in the face."

"Zelgadis is already blue in the face…" Gourry pointed out.

Lina stared at him for a split second before giving a short burst of laughter, not knowing if Gourry was trying to be funny to cheer her up or if his simple mind had focused on the similarities between her statement and the chimera's appearance, but the amusement cleared her head.

"Right, Gourry, and unless we want it to _stay_ that way, we need to think of _some_ way to get it though that rock head of his that he's throwing away the greatest chance for happiness in his life!"

Gourry looked thoughtful as they followed the waving lavender tail, pausing when Shiran stopped to sniff the ground or the air, and breaking into a run to keep up when the huge dragonwolf bolted ahead. Lina had to call out several times to get Shiran to wait for them, but

from the gradually curving course that the dragonwolf was taking, it looked as if Zelgadis was still on the palace grounds somewhere. _I would have thought he'd head out of here like a flash from a Lightning spell. He must _know_ we're looking for him--why would he take the chance that we'd catch him?_

"Gourry, when we catch up to Zelgadis, hang back, okay? I want to talk with him privately."

"Okay, Lina." The blonde swordsman was quiet for a few moments, then said, "Hey, Lina?"

"What?"

"I've been trying to figure out why Zelgadis is acting so different from the way he was on the Woodwind. As soon as we lost the ship, he started acting like his old, gloomy self."

"Well, he blames himself for losing--"

"No--I don't think that's it. Well, not all of it."

"Hm?" She cocked her head a bit, her pace slowing as she tried to figure out what Gourry was getting at, remembering that he seemed to have a better understanding of emotional undercurrents than most of his gender.

Gourry wore an uncharacteristically serious expression, so the contrast startled her a bit when he suddenly gave her a sweet smile, his eyes curving into cute little arcs as he said with a chuckle, "It's almost as if the Woodwind was a magic place, where everyone wasn't afraid to show their true feelings. I kinda miss it--not the flying part, but the feel of it…in the air…um…"

"You mean the atmosphere, the easy, relaxed feeling we developed after a while." Lina nodded. "I see what you're getting at. So part of the reason Zel got so upset over losing the Woodwind was because it hurt to lose the first place where he could really relax and let himself love Amelia without holding back."

"Yeah," the swordsman agreed. "When we got here it must have been a shock to be around other people again. And then Terrin shows up--"

"Kerrin," she corrected him absentmindedly.

"And suddenly Zel's got competition. Those bracelets of Amelia's were kinda the last straw, you know?" He held up his own green hand, splayed-fingered, and waved it in front of her face for a second.

Lina suppressed a giggle--his hand reminded her of a frog's front leg. "So he just gave up?"

"Maybe. Or maybe he's trying to bury his feelings again, to keep from getting hurt in case he loses Amelia."

Lina jogged for a few yards, then said softly, "I understand. I'd feel as bad as he does now if something happened so that you and I couldn't be together any more, now that we've finally admitted how we really feel about each other. After opening his heart at last…"

The beautiful lavender dragonwolf led them through patios and gardens, past fountains and pools and astonished onlookers, through pavilions and hedge-mazes and around the entire south wing of the palace before she finally stopped at the edge of the palace wall, sat down, and tilted her long, gracefully tapered head back, staring straight up.

Lina and Gourry followed her example, looking up. And up, and up, and up…all the way to the top of one of the palace roofs, near a row of what looked like stone columns. Lina squinted, barely able to make out a fluttering light blue piece of cloth. _Zel's new cape, the one Amelia bought for him._

"Boy, he sure looks miserable," Gourry commented.

Lina started to ask how he could see that far, then remembered that his distance vision was sharper than hers. "Can you see his face?"

"No, but he's sitting all scrunched up between two of those stone things, almost in a ball."

Lina felt her shoulders droop as some of her anger left her. "Poor guy. Okay, Gourry, wait here with Shiran."

She cast Levitation, then rose silently toward the despondent chimera, as close to the wall as she could so that he wouldn't see her coming and then flee before she could talk to him. As she neared the top, the winds grew stronger, causing her hair and cape--red against black--to lift away from her body, flapping and fluttering quite noticeably against the pastel pink and purple clouds that decorated the pale blue sky.

She saw the silver-blue head lift from where it had been pressed against his knees, his face only partly surprised at his visitor's identity, and said hastily, "Zel--wait a minute. I've got to talk to you, okay?" Her voice held no anger, only concern, and he nodded.

"I'm not going any where. I almost did, but I have a promise to keep."

Oh, right. His promise to attend Amelia's wedding ceremony. He must have fought with himself, trying to decide whether to go or stay; that's why Shiran led us on such a convoluted path. 

She landed gently next to the chimera and braced her feet carefully on a flat section of roof near the thick white stone columns, then smiled down at him. "I'm glad you decided to stay."

The next thing Zelgadis knew, he was flying through the air and he let out a yelp as he crashed sideways into one of the columns, rebounding away, only to slam into the column opposite the first one. Again he was sent flying, to bounce and bang and crunch and thump over and over into the sides of the two large stone cylinders, which began showing scrape marks and losing rock chips as the attack continued.

By the time he realized that Lina had him by the legs and was swinging him back and forth, in a sense beating him over the head with something other than her soft human fists, she had slammed him back to the rooftop again with enough force that he actually rebounded once before his motion finally stopped. Slowly he sat up, his head spinning, wondering if she had managed to bruise the flesh under his stone skin.

"There." Lina dusted her hands off, looking satisfied. _"Now_ I can forgive you."

"Gee, thanks," he muttered, rubbing his side with a stone hand, unsuccessfully attempting to soothe the aches under his hard skin.

Then she crouched down on the roof next to him, her arms around her knees, her long hair almost touching the roof tiles. He cringed back from her, but her face was serious, even gentle, as she said, "Listen, Zel…your time's run out. You've got to make your decision, now."

Zelgadis avoided her eyes. "I have."

"Have you?" For some reason her skeptical tone irritated him.

He scowled. "What are you implying?"

He expected her to start preaching to him about how he'd already practically promised Amelia that he would marry her, or maybe mention his obligation to the princess for undertaking the enormous effort to discover his cure, or even simply get angry, haul him off of the roof and drag him back into the palace like a disgraced child, but her next words astonished him.

With an unusually solemn expression, Lina began quietly, "When I first realized I had feelings for Gourry I denied them. I hid them, camouflaged them in camaraderie. They embarrassed me…made me feel really vulnerable, like a chink in my armor."

Despite himself, Zelgadis responded, "And now you feel differently?"

The petite sorceress nodded. "Loving Gourry makes me feel stronger, not weaker. It's like…always having a fine strong house to keep warm in…" her voice grew softer, with a hint of huskiness, "…no matter what. I know he'll always be there for me."

Zelgadis marveled at the softness in her ruby eyes, feeling a twinge of envy for the blonde swordsman, to have won the love of so formidable a woman. Then he shook his head, even though it made him dizzy for a moment, resisting the message her words brought. "Your point?" he asked, his tone somewhere between sarcasm and sullenness.

Again, Lina failed to get angry. "You're thinking of _yourself, _still. Not Amelia."

He opened his mouth to protest, but she kept going. "It's a hard habit to break--I know! You don't want to take the chance of losing her because of how _you'll feel_ if it happens, right?"

He tried to organize his thoughts, but again she caught him mentally off balance. "You don't want the guilt of maybe--_maybe, _I said--seeing her get hurt because of the spell…and yet, _instead_ you'd rather see her be miserable with another man, knowing that you never gave her the chance to prove her love? You'd rather have _that_ sort of guilt?"

"But the Spheres said she'd be happy--"

"Don't give me that! You know perfectly well that Amelia loves _you; _she only cares about _you!_ I don't care _what_ the Spheres said--Amelia was _already_ in love with you when you found out how to use them--so no matter _how_ nice this Kerrin is, he'd only be second place in her heart. She'd always have the shadow of losing you staining their relationship--and so she'd never really be happy."

Zelgadis tried to ignore the small, guilty spark of delight that he felt at the idea that Amelia would never be as happy with anyone else as she might be with him. "She'd learn to love him…everyone did. Even the most hateful of my cousins treated him with courtesy."

She blinked, and then her eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh, really… Then is it…that you worry that she might choose Kerrin over you--that she'll find you undesirable as a human man?"

Silence.

Lina sensed that she'd struck a nerve. "Where she had no trouble loving the strong, mysterious _chimera, _she might find the _man_ a little too…dull and weak?" She gave him a shrewd glance, tinged with both impishness and a certain amount of triumph at finally being able to get back at him for putting Amelia through such pain. "Isn't that why you let Rezo transform you--because you never felt you measured up as a human?"

__

How dare she! Zelgadis rose to his feet, clenching his fists, snarling, "I didn't know he was going to turn me into a chimera!"

Lina stood up as well, dropping all pretense of playfulness as she looked him right in the eye. "But still, you felt inadequate before, right?"

The stone man opened his mouth to agree, and then realized what was throwing him so off-kilter. _Lina's not acting like herself_. He stared down at the young woman standing calmly in front of him, her ruby eyes showing far more wisdom than one would expect for an eighteen-year-old, and felt his respect for her rise several notches.

Gradually the anger drained out of him, and he felt himself relax as he said evenly, "You've done a lot of thinking, haven't you?"

The small redhead smiled a little. "Loving Gourry has made me think in ways I never did before…" A sassy note crept into her voice. "Not that I wasn't _always_ brilliant…but never so introspective. It's new territory…and a little scary, right, Zel?" She winked at him.

Not for me…sometimes I wonder if I think too much. Or worry too much, anyway.

He watched a few strands of her hair drift in front of her face as she seemed to answer his unspoken comment. "Anyway, Zel, you're blowing the Oracle's warning _way_ out of proportion. Amelia's a terrific cleric--it's an insult to her face and her skill if you don't even let her _try, _after everything we've been through. Don't you trust her to come through for you?"

He opened his mouth to answer but she was already adding, "Besides, she _needs_ a man like you--logical, practical, feet on the ground. If nothing else, to protect her from the assassination attempts Seyrune's leaders seem so prone to. Who could protect her better?"

"Well, as a chimera bodyguard…"

Lina shook her head, dismissing that notion as her red-gold hair swirled around her face in the rising wind. She was quiet for a few moments, staring out at the fading sunset colors: deep rose, dusty lilac, pale green and blue. "Listen, _if _Amelia dies or goes insane, you'll have to live with that guilt for your life…but if you _don't_ let her take the chance, you'll have a different sort of guilt: knowing that in one stroke you've singlehandedly embittered her for life."

She reached up to brush some of her hair behind her ear, her ruby eyes dark with emotion as she said quietly, "Could you really do that to her? Take away her joy--her hope? That bright, shining girl... Do you have the right to do that?"

Zelgadis was silent.

Lina cocked an eyebrow. "Who knows? She might even suicide. Her family's not the most stable sort, emotionally…"

He felt a jolt of alarm. _She's right…and Amelia's already mentally scarred because of the incident with her mother, the one only I and her father know about…the one she confessed to me in my arms…_

Lina faced him with her arms crossed, and for a moment he was struck by the incongruity of being lectured by someone whose head only came up to his Adam's apple. "If you choose to try, you might win, or you might lose--even though the Oracle says 'win'," she said soberly, "but if you choose _not_ to try, you _know _exactly how it'll end!"

For a moment he was back in the small room where, three years ago, Lina had agreed to join him and Gourry in what had appeared to be a hopeless battle against the reborn shard of Shabranigdo. He recalled her words about going into the battle expecting to win, because if they believed that it truly _was_ hopeless, they had already lost.

And so I tried to believe…and when the unexpected happened and my grandfather Rezo--the last remnants of his original human personality, anyway--suddenly revived after we'd thought him completely gone, Lina was ready for it, and able to instantly think of a way to use that to our advantage, getting him to hold back the Dark Lord for the few moments that it took for Lina to cast her own final, terrible spell--the Giga Slave. And so her hope that things would work out all right really did_ help save the world._

She could have told herself that the spell was too dangerous--even before she learned of the Giga Slave's real _purpose, she'd known it was the most powerful black magic spell that a human could cast. She could have run away right then and there, leaving the rest of the world to perish, saving the spell for the last moment, when Shabranigdo eventually sought her out. She could have given up, before she even started…_

Now the master sorceress' gaze fixed on him, and suddenly he found it impossible to look away from her intense gaze. "Do you remember Amelia's face when Martina got married?" she asked quietly.

Abruptly he did--Amelia's eyes had shone with such joy that he'd actually been a little embarrassed, and covered it up by teasing her, asking her whether she would rather be a justice fighter or a bride. It had amused him when she'd haughtily replied that she wanted to be both.

He nodded.

"Don't you want her to look like that on her wedding day?" Lina demanded.

He found himself unable to say a word, caught up in the memory of the princess' sapphire eyes, shining like stars…

Lina put her hands on her hips, her face hard. "Listen, Zelgadis," she challenged him, "It all comes down to _this: _Do you love Amelia? Enough to risk losing her?" After one last glare, she turned on her heel, her boots making scraping sounds in the rock grit that covered the rooftop after her seeming attempt to use him as a bell clapper, and said "Levitation."

As she rose into the air she said, "We'll be waiting for you. You have until midni--no. You need to make up your mind before then, or we won't have enough time." She began her descent, the orange sunlight edging her body with a fiery golden outline, and then paused, looking back over her shoulder. Her face was shadowed, but he could just make out her eyes, shimmering faintly with a hint of her usual sassiness. "Oh, and by the way, Zel…it was pretty easy to find you. Either you're losing your edge…or maybe, deep down, you really wanted to be caught."

Within a few moments the sound of Lina's cape flapping in the breeze faded, and as if on cue, the wind died down, leaving him in perfect silence. Zelgadis stood there for a while, absently touching a hand to one of the battered gray stone columns as he gazed out at the gentle pastel colors that filled the twilight sky, his eyes unfocused. _Maybe I did…_

His pointed ears caught a short, high-pitched howl, and he looked over the edge to see Shiran, who was standing at the base of the wall on her hind legs, with her front paws against the wall, agitatedly waving her fluffy lavender tail as she gazed up at him.

Lina and Gourry were nowhere to be seen. _They must have decided to wait with Amelia inside. I suppose Shiran decided not to return with them. _"Shiran, remain," he called, mostly to let her know that he was all right. He knew that she would hear him; her ears were even better than his.

The worried flicker in Shiran's glowing emerald eyes calmed and she sat down in the grass, obviously prepared to wait patiently for her bonded one. Zelgadis smiled, recognizing from her body language that she must have sensed that he was upset and been distressed that she was not able to comfort him, since she couldn't fly. _I'd never be alone again, with Shiran, assuming that Amelia would be willing to let her travel with me._ He debated whether to go down and bring the dragonwolf up onto the roof, but then a mental image of the princess' distraught face as he asked her for the dragonwolf flashed before his eyes.

Oh, Amelia. Abruptly he backed away from the edge to sit in his former position between two of the stone columns, with his knees drawn up against his chest, his arms around his knees, his light blue cape fluttering in the breeze. He barely noticed the occasional strong gusts that shifted his hair, sending out silvery whispers as the wires brushed past each other, or the glorious, delicate rainbow of pastel cloud-colors in front of his unseeing eyes. 

Take Shiran, indeed. Lina was right. His mental tone was as self-reproachful as ever, but for a new reason._ I _have_ been thinking about myself, about what _I _would do if something happened to take that happy, loving girl away from me… And that isn't right. Being in love isn't just about my _own_ wants and desires; it's about _hers, _too._

I've never cared much for other people. Most of my childhood was spent learning ways to fight for what I_ wanted, to impose my will upon others, _not_ to be receptive to _their_ wishes. I was taught how to head a family, to provide food and shelter and education for my people, but always on _my_ terms, not theirs._

He pulled in a deep breath of fresh clean air, and let it out in a slow sigh, his face showing his strain. _I'm not good at this sort of thing. I hate the idea of letting anyone have _any_ kind of control over me, no matter how small. It…frightens me. Yes, that's it. The thought of voluntarily letting someone have control over me makes me want to fight, to dig in my heels, to back out of this whole thing. It's unnerving to realize that someone--even someone like Amelia--can have such power over me._

The day was nearly done, gradually darkening from a pastel wash of colors to a deep midnight blue, sprinkled with the faint twinkling lights of the first stars. Far below, the singing of thousands of night insects had already begun, unnoticed by the stone man.

…Maybe that's what Lina was trying to tell me. If anything, she's even worse than I am about letting someone else have influence over her, and yet…she managed to come to terms with her fears when she decided to stop denying her love for Gourry. She says she feels even stronger than before. Of course, Gourry isn't exactly the domineering type, whereas Amelia--sometimes--can be a bit of a …

And as for me…how many times did I act against my better judgment on this journey? How many times did I let Amelia's needs take precedence over what I thought should be done?

No…that's wrong. His blue-green eyes widened as he realized,_ She didn't _make_ me do anything. Things like comforting her when she was sad, or going to that concert, the one that ended up such a fiasco…I _wanted_ to do those things. I could have ignored her when she smiled or when she cried, but every time, I chose to make her happy. _My _choice, not hers. And…to be honest, I haven't regretted any of it._

When we started this journey Amelia did_ conspire to marry me, but when it finally came out into the open, she acknowledged that I had the right to choose. She said she had planned to wait until I'd gotten used to being human again before she proposed to me, which is not exactly the same as giving me no choice at all…and when I pointed out that I would have felt morally obligated to marry her out of duty and gratitude for her aid, she relented right away, insisting that marrying her was _my_ choice._

Since then she's never imposed her will on me, never made me feel forced, helpless, as Rezo once did… She's always given me respect. And trust.

His expression firmed, his shoulders straightening from their hunched position as the confusion cleared from his eyes. _Maybe it's time I did the same. Maybe the important thing isn't whether or not I think she can cast the spell, it's that _I_ give _her_ the same trust, the same freedom she's given me. The freedom to choose. And to accept the consequences, whatever they may be._

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Author's Notes: The first part of my Author's Notes are actually from chapter 7.5--I decided to delete that chapter so as not to mess up the number of chapters that has listed for this fic, so I added those notes to chapter 80. Look below for the new Notes to chapter 80. 

Chapter 7.5--Yay! My computer is finally working better--still not 100%, but good enough so that I feel I can start work on my fic again. It's really hard to get back into the right mindset, though.

I want all of you to know that it was **your reviews **that finally made me start thinking about what should come next--see, I was reading a story on and I decided to check my reviews, and as I was reading them I began to mentally reply to the ones that needed answering, and then at work the next day I found myself writing down ideas for the next scenes, and now I've got chapter 80 almost ready to go!

Thanks especially to **those of you who posted a review for the first time**--I was afraid that the length of Only Stone on the Outside had scared everyone off, so that only those people who have stuck loyally by me for so long are still reading my fic.

And now, the answers:

Knid comments about chapter 72: In this chapter even after Zel is no longer wearing the jewel he still responds to Amelia and lets his feelings show. Because regardless of how it happened he's accepted it, or does the jewel continue to exert an influence for a time?

One has to be touching the gem to influence/be influenced by it. Zel is secretly glad he can finally show Amelia how he feels, now that his secret's out. **Sylver-Ajah **asks: did his [Xellos'] statement of warning to Amelia have anything to do with the fact that the gem was attached to HIM?

Yup. I'll mention more about this subject in a later chapter.

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Ichiban Victory says: 'Tis an interesting development with the bracelet 'accepting' Kerrin, although I'd be interested to see what it would do if Zelgadis wore it.

Zelgadis _has_ worn it--when Amelia first gave it to him…I think it was chapter 7. Anyway, after that it was oriented on him, even though it wasn't actually touching his (stone) skin, when it hung from his canteen.

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Sunlight Rocket comments: I took note a few chapters back that you seem to be interested in Chinese Astrology. I'm a **Tiger, **but my interest lean more toward the Greek Zodiac. I've visited your homepage, and found that you are a **Virgo** (highly analytical and organized). It certainly shows in your work. I can tell that you've spent a bit of time really observing the Slayers. Plus, that note in which you spoke of printing your stories out into separte notebooks for each- VERY **Virgo!**

Actually, I'm a **Leo** in the Greek zodiac. I do have **Virgo** as an ascendant, so I seem to have about as many **Virgo** characteristics as **Leo** ones. I like the Chinese **Ox** sign because it seems to combine **Leo** and **Virgo** characteristics--or so it seems to me, anyway. The web site homepage that you visited was probably my friend Shell Presto's--she's hosting part of my fic and some fanpics, because I don't have a site of my own. And yes, she's a **Virgo.**

I got into personality typing because of a site where the webmistress (Astra, I think,) had analyzed the main Slayers characters, and after checking out a few books from the library--my favorites are Type Talk (I forget the author's name but it should be easy to look up), Gifts Differing, and Why We Love the Dogs We Do. They all focus on the Meyers-Briggs personality profile, where I am an INTP.

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I= Introvert-someone who recharges their energy after a long day at work by seeking privacy

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E=Extravert-someone who recharges by hanging out with friends

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N=Intuitive-would rather live in the world of ideas

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S=Sensing-would rather live in the 'real' world

**T=Thinking-**prefers to make choices logically****

F=Feeling-prefers to make choices in harmony with the feelings of themselves and others

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P=Perceiving-always considering new possibilities before making decisions (can lead to procrastination)

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J=Judging-wants closure as soon as possible when making a decision (often impatient)

Check it out; it's fascinating stuff!

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One last request -bows deeply toward the audience- I have another challenge for the artists among you. After a lot of thought, I have decided what kind of background I would love for the cover of my binder --the one in which my printed version of my fic is stored. With the title Only Stone on the Outside, the image I have is of a stone wall, made of many stones of various--not ugly--colors, with a single red rose growing out of a crack between the stones. The stone wall represents Zelgadis, and the wall he built around his heart during the long years of working under Rezo, and the rose, of course, represents Amelia and the love that she managed to make bloom in his heart in spite of everything. The flower ought to be near the bottom or to one side, so that I have room in the middle for the cover art and title, etc. The picture itself should be around 12 by 12 inches, so it'll be large enough to be a good background piece.

I've been considering going out and taking a picture of a stone wall--I live in New Hampshire so they're everywhere--but I haven't seen any that match with my mental image. Most walls are too small or dirty or have too much greenery growing on them--and none have a single rose. I've looked online for pictures too, and nothing seemed right. I figure my only choices are draw this myself--I'm a writer, not an artist--or beseech you all most earnestly to help me out once again with fanart. Or a photograph of a real stone wall with a rose, if you know of a really nice-looking wall.

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Arigatou!

---Dreamsinger

Chapter 80 Author's Notes:

More and more, I see Zel's views of relationships mirroring mine. I, too, find the idea of someone having any kind of influence over me distasteful and burdensome, if not downright scary. Since I'm female, I also have to worry about the fact that pretty nearly all guys are physically stronger than me. I really don't know how people manage to have relationships at all…it must be trust, ne? With trust, you don't worry about things like that.

For those of you who have taken a personality test (or have a good guess, based on the info above), I'm curious to know which personality types my fic appeals to. Ideally, I would prefer Only Stone on the Outside to be universally liked, but they say you can't please everybody, so if it's not too much trouble, may I ask each of you, my highly esteemed readers, to let me know which type you are (or think you are)?

The hard part, they say, is being honest with yourself, and acknowledging who you really are, not whom you would like to be.

Oh, and if you happen to read that book Why We Love the Dogs We Do, the Papillon, a breed I've liked for a long time, turned out to be in one of the categories listed for my personality type. Lovely dogs…(I collect dog statues and pics off the Net.) I also like Whippets, Belgain Shepherds, Welsh Springer Spaniels, Bernese Mountain Dogs and Australian Shepherds.


	81. Chapter 81: Let's Go For It! The Oracl...

Only Stone on the Outside

a Slayers fanfic

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

PG for mild language

Note: For those of you who might not have realized, I uploaded a new chapter 80 with a lot of new stuff added, making it about twice as long as before. You might want to go read that before you read chapter 81.

Flittiko -- 'FLEE-tee-koh. The flittiko is a small metal instrument similar to a flute, but played with the instrument held in front of the player instead of held off to the side.

Chapter Eighty-One: Let's Go for It! The Oracle's Advice

Time passed as the chimera gazed out over the city from the palace roof, watching without seeing as dozens of windows appeared from the darkness in various shades of yellow or white, rectangles of everything from candle-and-oil-lamplight to light spells.

As Zelgadis sat between two large stone columns, he set the side of his forefinger against his chin, deep in thought, sincerely trying to follow Lina's example and focus on hope rather than despair and fearful misgivings.

Lina asked me if I wanted to see Amelia's face light up the way it did during Martina's wedding…hmm…wedding… The last night I spent here at the palace, I had a dream of Amelia, as a bride and then a mother. Her face was so full of joy…for herself, her husband, and her children. I envied that man…I…wanted to be_ that man._

His teal eyes widened in realization. _I didn't just want a normal life; I wanted _that_ life, _that_ family…an end to being alone. With Amelia and--some little ones… _A twinge of uneasiness brushed through his mind at the thought, but not for the usual reasons. _Children…children of mine…_

Think positively, he reminded himself. He tried to picture what the future might be like, being married to Amelia, and slowly smiled. _With her at my side, I could do anything, even rule a kingdom. I'd have a lot to learn at first--from what I've seen, Seyrune's citizens have more freedom, more choices, instead of the way it was in my family, where the leader's word was law and the people's wishes were ignored. I'd have to learn how to accommodate others without letting myself be swayed too much._

Perhaps I ought to choose a trustworthy aide, someone who knows the ropes and can help fill me in on the little background details that will help me learn about life in Seyrune, and the Seyrune court, specifically. Like who I should keep my guard up around.

Hm. If I'm human, then I'll have to be more alert for physical threats, too. With a flesh-and-blood body, I'll have to be careful for a while until I've gotten accustomed to things like being injured, and having to eat and sleep more often. Still, everyone else has the same disadvantages, and they all manage.

Idly he stretched his arms over his head, finally relaxing as the power of positive thinking took effect. _I wonder which bed chamber I'll be living in…with Amelia-- _Suddenly his eyes widened and he sat bolt upright. _If I go through with this, if I let her cast the spell and the cure is successful, we'll be married _tonight!

"And that means…I'll be human," he said aloud, his voice tinged with wonder. "With Amelia, alone together…"

He became aware that his breath was coming faster, his heart beating rapidly in his stone chest. He recalled what she had looked like when they'd accidentally seen each other in the nude, and slowly an intrigued smile grew on his face. _She certainly didn't seem to mind too much… She even said she was looking forward to it. It's still a little hard to believe that she could truly want me, but if this cure works, I won't disappoint her. I hope._

For a while, the chimera's mind was occupied with typical male fantasies, an activity in which he had seldom allowed himself to indulge (what was the point, when doing so would only leave him frustrated?) in the past. Now he looked toward the future with an eagerness that he had seldom experienced, even before he'd been cursed, and not all of it was due to the imminent wedding night. Every time he imagined Amelia's smile he felt a warm tingling all over, a heady rush of love that made him feel slightly dizzy. _Is this what it's like to feel lovesick?_

The stone man was unaware of the passage of time, but eventually old habits began to surface. Zelgadis felt that familiar uneasiness that something might come along to take away his unhappiness, and he cast about in his mind, looking for obstacles.

And he found one. _Kerrin…what should I do about him? I was halfway expecting to have to challenge the fiance Amelia mentioned, but that she should choose my own _cousin_ out of all the men who must have been vying for her hand--it still stuns me. She said she didn't know of our relationship, so what made her pick _him?

And what do I do about it? Should I challenge him to a duel, or just brush him aside, as I used to when we were younger? I'm almost positive he'd give way without a fight, but…I don't want to do that to him. He must have been looking forward to marrying her… Besides, he's the only living relative I have that I give a damn about. I want to stay on good terms with him, and to do that, I need to treat him with the same respect I'll be giving Amelia--the rights of an equal.

Slowly he stood, noticing for the first time that night had fallen. _I hope he understands. If he's still the same Kerrin I remember, he may not want to fight at all, but if he _does_ want to, I'll do my best not to kill him. And later, I'll ask Amelia to help me find a nice girl for him, someone who will bring as much light into his life as Amelia has into mine._

IIIIIIIIIIIII

Amelia brushed back a strand of midnight hair that had managed to escape from her topknot, then took a moment to wipe her sweaty hands on her pants before taking up her guiolin again as it hung by its thick, sturdy leather strap from her neck. _What a complicated spell! Mister Xellos knows the general words, and he knows that they're to be sung to music, but neither of us has a clue as to which kind of music to play. _

As part of her formal princess training, Amelia had learned to play several musical instruments adequately, and she had chosen the guiolin. She would have preferred to use the instrument she played best, the flittiko, as she hadn't practiced with the guiolin in a year, but she had to have her mouth free to sing the spell.

Xellos had to cover his ears when she played, as the music grated against his mazoku nature, but he bore up well enough if she only played a few notes at a time. "Most people would take weeks, if not months, to work on this spell," the apparent man commented. "The Words are fairly standard, but the problem is working out the right frequencies. You want to completely abolish the spell, right?"

Amelia nodded dutifully. "Right."

Xellos sighed. "This kind of curse is insidious…it's far easier to drive it back out of sight, as it were, than to dissolve it completely."

Amelia cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

Xellos touched the tip of his finger to his temple. "Think of a pot of stew. Each ingredient is separate until you add it to the stew, but then it is almost impossible to remove all traces of the liquid from the vegetables. The liquid has permeated the solids, you see? If you take out a piece of carrot and dry it off, it still looks like a carrot, but it may smell like the stew and will have tiny particles of the liquid merged into the outer layers, perhaps even the core, if it's been in the stew long enough."

Amelia frown, her forehead wrinkling as she tried to assimilate this. "Do you mean he'll still smell like stone?"

The apparent man covered his face with his hand, his shoulders slumping, a sweat drop appearing by his temple. "Maybe that was a poor analogy. My point is that we may not be able to remove _all_ of the traces of the spell completely, but even if we don't, he'll still look and feel human."

Her confusion eased. "That's good enough for me," she said firmly.

Xellos debated facefaulting, but decided that they had wasted too much time already. "All right, then, we'll focus on eliminating as much of the spell as we can."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Lina and Gourry returned without Zelgadis. Amelia gave them a worried glance as they entered the small music room--the very one in which she had gifted the stone man with a fine guiolin--and noticed that Shiran was not with them either. "Miss Lina, what happened?"

Instead of being in one of her usual vengeful rages, the red-haired sorceress looked rather thoughtful. "I told him some things that he needed to hear. The rest is up to him."

"Oh." Amelia was full of curiosity, but no amount of questioning would make Lina tell her any more, so she threw herself into practicing with a vengeance, while Xellos explained Lina's part of the spell to the petite sorceress.

The atmosphere in the room settled into one of industrious activity, with Gourry sneaking a nap in one corner while the others practiced various parts of the spell. Amelia was concentrating on a certain set of notes with a hand that was already developing sore muscles--not to mention sore fingertips--when a familiar, slightly surprised voice said behind her, "I didn't know you played the guiolin."

"Zelgadis!" She turned to face him, dropping the large wooden instrument, which gave her a sharp tug on the back of her neck as its strap kept it from crashing to the floor. She tried to hug him and the guiolin got sandwiched in between them, giving a brief, wailing twang of protest at such treatment. "I was afraid you'd never come back!"

As she released him, she was astonished to see the top of his pale silver-blue head come into view as he bowed formally to her. "I'm sorry, Amelia," he said quietly.

For once, she had no words; as far as she knew, Zelgadis had never bowed like this to _anyone_ before. The others--even Gourry, who had awakened at her shout--stared at him. Shiran looked back and forth between them, and even Xellos seemed mildly surprised.

As Zelgadis stood upright, he met her eyes with his own serious blue-green ones. "I've been trying to be the same fool I've been for the past two months. I hope you can forgive me, but I'll understand if you're angry with me."

"Oh, I'm not angry," she said automatically.

His somber teal gaze did not waver. "Are you sure?"

Her cheeks developed a slight pink tinge at being caught in a lie. "Well…maybe a little. But I do understand how you feel, remember? After all, if our positions were reversed…"

She let her voice trail off, not wanting to do anything that might make him want to leave again. _Well, I would _never_ want to put you in any danger, but if I _had_ to depend on you to change me back into a human, I would. As long as _you_ decided you wanted to take the risk._

She turned away from his eyes and sighed deeply. "I just wish…I just wish that you could trust me," she said in a small voice.

"I _do_ trust you," Zelgadis' troubled tone made her look up at him as he continued, "but the one thing you can never promise me is that nothing bad will ever happen to you."

Slowly, she shook her head. "No, I can't… I can only promise that when bad things _do_ happen, I'll do my very best to overcome them." She hesitated, then stepped toward him, placing a hand tentatively on his forearm. "Will you be there to help me?"

He hesitated, and she could see in his eyes how very much he wanted to agree, but instead of the 'no' she feared, he surprised her by saying, "Could I speak with you--privately?"

Surprised, she looked at the others and saw Lina's mouth open as if she were about to argue, but then the red-haired sorceress gave the stone man a sharp glance, and Amelia watched her face fade to the same thoughtful expression she had worn when she'd returned earlier. Lina faced Amelia and nodded solemnly at her as if to say, _I've done all I can. Now it's up to you two to make this work._

Gourry had his usual amiable smile, and Xellos had one purple eyebrow raised, but he too made no protest as Amelia nodded and turned on suddenly twitchy legs to lead Zelgadis out of the room. Shiran got up to follow them, and was stopped by a quiet, "Shiran, remain," from Zelgadis.

Amelia paid no attention to where she was going, trying to decide what could be so awful that he didn't even want to talk about it in front of their friends, and thus was a little surprised to find herself standing in the oil lamp-lit hallway in front of her own bedroom door. _Habit, I guess. I always used to come here when I needed a safe haven._

She opened the door and went in, vividly recalling the time that Zelgadis had escorted her here after their 'date', and how much she had wanted to kiss him. After she lit the pair of wall-mounted oil lamps on either side of her room, she turned to see the chimera still standing in the doorway, and from the look in his eyes, he was remembering that night as well.

As she met his gaze, he took a step forward--and stopped at the threshold. Amelia felt her lips curve in a small smile. _He's probably never been in a girl's room when it wasn't a life-or-death situation. _"It's all right." She nodded. "You can come in."

He made a small noise of discomfiture as he obeyed her, then looked around the large room. Amelia saw it as if through his eyes: the three sizable cherry wardrobes, carved with a delicate vine-leaf pattern, the matching dresser and vanity, her collection of knights and horses arranged along the top of the dresser, the paintings, the thick many-colored rugs and yellow drapes and her big vine-carved bed with its matching yellow bedspread.

Both of them gazed at the bed, then turned to look at each other. She saw the stone man swallow visibly, then he took a step toward the small wooden chair in front of her vanity. "No--it's all right. Come sit by me," she said firmly, remembering how that phrase had worked back at the inn where she'd gotten hurt.

She approached the bed, hearing him follow her, and sat down on the side, near the pillows. Zelgadis gingerly lowered himself down near the other end, bracing part of his weight on his foot when the mattress sank under him. The princess looked up and met his eyes, and both of them blushed.

This time Amelia looked away first, clearing her throat. "Um…what did you want to talk to me about?" Her slightly-quivering voice gave away her anxiety.

"…Several things, actually."

She looked up to see his face full of emotions; reluctance, determination, trepidation, shame--even though none of it showed in the quiet tone he'd used.

He took a deep breath. "First of all, I need to ask you--are you _absolutely_ _sure_ that you want to attempt this spell?"

She searched his face, looking for some hint, but his expression had smoothed over, as if he had become a real statue. Only his eyes were alive, shimmering with feeling.

Amelia straightened her shoulders, her own voice steady as she answered, "Yes. Only _I_ have the right to choose whether to risk my life. You never asked me to, so you have _nothing_ to feel guilty about."

He said nothing.

Amelia tried again. "Sometimes in life, you have to let people help you, you know? You have to take the risk of trusting someone…just as _I_ will take the risk of performing that spell for you. No--for _us."_

"I'm still against this. I don't want to put you in danger again…"

She opened her mouth to reassure him, but was stopped by the sudden anguish on his face, in his voice, and the sight of his fists, clenched tightly by his sides. "You don't know how I felt, Amelia… You died once in my arms already."

When Hellmaster Phibrizzo captured all of us in order to force Miss Lina to use the Giga Slave.

Amelia was somber for a few moments, but then she brought herself back from those horrible memories and recalled more recent wounds. "I _do_ know how you feel," she contradicted him. "I've watch you die, little by little all these years, every time you said you hated yourself. It _hurt, _Zelgadis…"

From the guilty surprise on his face, he had never expected her to see things that way. She gave him a soft smile and reached for one of his stone hands, pulling it away from his side and slipping her own fingers into his. She gave it a determined little shake.

"I will _never_ be able to forgive myself if I let the opportunity to restore your life to you pass by, just because it might be hard, or dangerous." Suddenly a little grin quirked the corner of her lips. "So is traveling with Miss Lina--but I would never give _it_ up, either. I'm tough, Zelgadis; I can do this. Have faith in me!"

Zelgadis stared at the spunky young woman sitting so close to him, and remembered the last time she had asked him to trust her. _When she convinced me to let her go alone into Ponmar's cave. She was right, then, too._ _I suppose she wins this round._ He couldn't hold back a smile of pure admiration. "When you put it that way, I guess I have to."

But next--

"Oh, Zelgadis!"

She gave him such a dazzling smile that his heart gave a thump, sending twinges of enjoyable electricity through him. It took the chimera several moments to remember what he'd been about to say. "What about Kerrin?"

She blinked at him, then beamed at him again. "Oh…I'm looking forward to having him as a brother."

He fought off the urge to facefault. _"Brother?"_

"Well, technically he'll be a cousin-in-law, but from the way Daddy was acting he'll be treated as if he were my brother. _Our_ brother," she added, squeezing his hard hand in that endearing way she had of wanting to comfort him even if it involved some _dis_comfort on her part. "I'm really happy. I always wanted a little brother."

A brother? That's it? _She was going to _marry_ him! _"Amelia…" He ran his free hand through his wire hair, causing a soft silvery whisper to sound. "Then what made you choose Kerrin at all?"

Her eyes widened and she looked away with a soft pink blush over her nose. "Well…to be honest, it was because he looked like you."

"What?"

"That was the first thing that made me notice him. Then we talked and danced and he was friendly and eager, like a little puppy. He said he was in love with me, and he understood when I told him I was in love with someone else--you, but I didn't say your name so he didn't know it was you--and he really seemed to care when I told him how you'd been cursed."

A shadow seemed to dim her blue eyes. "Then I got the warning from the Star Sphere and I couldn't _go_ to you--" Her voice got a little shaky but she managed to keep it under control, and continued, "--and Kerrin supported me, and when Daddy said I could go look for you if I chose a fiance first, I picked Kerrin…because I knew it would make him happy, and…he reminded me of you. A happy you, the you you should have been…" Her tone softened. "The you I want you to be."

Her luminous sapphire eyes shimmered as she reached out with her free hand and placed it tenderly on the side of his face, and Zelgadis felt his suspicions dissolve, easing the knot of disquiet that had been in his heart ever since he'd heard of Amelia's mysterious fiance.

Suddenly she giggled, running a small finger over his nose before dropping her hand. "Do you get cute freckles like his in the summer?"

He blinked at her sudden mood change, as well as her question. "Uh…to be honest, I can't recall. You'd have to ask Kerrin--he'll remember."

She giggled again and he found that his heart was lighter. Her emotions were contagious, and for the moment he gave in to this one, his mind wandering back over the days when he and his cousin had played at being swordsmen and minstrels.

That reminds me… "How long have you played the guiolin, Amelia? You never mentioned that you could play."

"Oh, I know how to play several instruments, but I've always been best at the flittiko. I'm nowhere near as good as you." He caught a note of apprehension in her voice, but then she sat up straighter and gave his hand a little squeeze as she said stoutly, "But don't worry, Zelgadis; I won't let you down! We still have almost five hours until midnight, and I promise to practice until my fingers _bleed, _if I have to!"

The stone man was struck by the memory of her first sword lesson, when she literally _had_ done just that. His solemn face cracked a wry smile. "I don't think you have to go _that_ far," he said, his voice deepening with amused pride at her zeal. "I can provide the music."

Amelia's eyes widened, and she said hesitantly, "Um, Zelgadis…you play the guiolin beautifully, but…you're not allowed to participate in casting the spell, are you?"

"No, I meant, the Oracle gave me something to make music."

He withdrew the precious magic orb from the innermost pocket of his light blue tunic and held it up. In the lamp light the golden color seemed to move and flow like honey, shimmering with a deep, rich glow.

Amelia released his hand and clasped both of her together in front of her chest. "Oh, it's beautiful, Zelgadis," she breathed.

"The Oracle said…" He closed his eyes for a moment to think. "That all you need to do is hold it and concentrate, and it will play the right music for the spell."

"How wonderful! The Oracle thought of everything!"

"Yeah…" He frowned slightly. "That reminds me. She didn't really give me a cure."

"What?"

His head snapped up to see a look of utter horror on the princess' face. He held up his free hand and waved it in front of her face to get her attention. "Sorry, that's not what I meant! I mean, she didn't just give me one option."

Now Amelia looked annoyed. "Don't scare me like that! What do you mean, options?"

"Just a few alternate suggestions…"

FLASHBACK:

Zelgadis: (stands in the Oracle's cave in front of the glimmering globe): "Options?"

Oracle: (globe glows a basic neutral blue color) : "I can give ya the spell ya _want, _but is it what ya _need?"_

Zelgadis: (thinks for a moment, frowning slightly) "Is there a difference?"

Oracle: "Ya want ta be human again so badly that ya never even let yerself consider the benefits of yer chimera form. Now, I got a couple options ya might want ta consider…first, ya might just want ta _reduce _the effect the curse has on ya. You know, like--keep some of the speed, the strength, have tough skin-hide fer protection instead of stone--"

Zelgadis: (suffers a mental picture of himself with bald, shiny blue skin like an octopus): "No."

Oracle: "Well then, if it's yer appearance that bothers you, how about a spell that just makes ya _look_ human?"

Zelgadis (pauses, then shakes his head) "That could be useful, but I'd still never be able to have a normal life. The first time someone bumped into me my secret would be out, and as for my love life…"

Oracle: "Okay, then what about a mothball spell?"

Zelgadis: "A what?"

Oracle: "That's what I call it. Basically, ya take the golem and brow demon aspects of the curse and mothball 'em. Put 'em in a closet, so to speak, so ya can pull 'em out and use 'em when ya need 'em."

Zelgadis: (looks angry) "You mean _re-curse myself? _No thanks! I want to be _completely _free of it!"

Oracle: (globe changes to a stern gray color) "Now, honey, you _know_ if ya give up yer powers completely yer likely to get yerself killed, either in the first few weeks when yer still vulnerable, getting used ta being human, or later in some madcap adventure, helping yer friends. Considering yer friend Lina's track record, ya gotta admit that's likely."

Zelgadis: (scowls stubbornly and jumps sarcastically on her last statement) "You don't know for certain? I thought Oracles knew _everything."_

Oracle: (annoyed orange washes over globe): "Hey, kiddo, predicting the future's not an exact science, ya know? Take this conversation. If we'd never had it you'd be doing things a lot different twenty years from now, but since we _are, _yer future's rearranging itself even as we speak."

Zelgadis (his face growing serious) "So you don't control the future?"

Oracle: (globe fades back to a calmer blue) "Of course not. That's up ta you, and besides, I'm no meddler. _You_ came ta _me, _remember? I can give ya advice, give ya the benefit of the wisdom I've acquired over the ages, but what ya do with it is up ta you." 

Zelgadis: (calms down a bit, his tone deep with longing) "Okay, but…all I've wanted for so many years is to be completely free of this curse…of looking like a monster…"

Oracle: "You don't look human, I'll give ya that, but think about it…were people really that much friendlier ta you when you _were_ human?"

Zelgadis: (looks thoughtful) "…Not really, I guess. People weren't as openly hostile, but not many people gave me any respect. I suppose looking like this only gives people more of an excuse to treat me with the same scorn they'd give my human side. But, still--"

Oracle: (a ripple of lighter blue passes through the medium blue glow, giving the impression of a shrug) "I'm not you. I'm not the one who's gotta live with whatever choices you make. All I'm saying is those powers of yers come in handy at times, not just for you but when yer friends' lives are in danger, so why waste them? Ya still have your human intelligence, and your soul--"

Zelgadis: (sounds a little shaky) "Do I?"

Oracle: (affectionate pink pulses of light appear as she laughs the way a parent does when they're reassuring a child) "Oh, sweetie, of course ya do! You wouldn't give a hill of beans about yer friends if ya didn't! The _only_ person in yer head is _you. _And anyway, ya only got the _powers_ of those creatures, not their minds. I suspect Rezo had a hand in that--the beings merged into you have no minds, no souls. You're still you--ya always have been."

Zelgadis: (still looking worried) "Are you sure?"

Oracle: (laughs again) "Oh, honey, I'm sure. You're still little Li inside."

Zelgadis: (looks greatly relieved) "…Then maybe I'll take your suggestion."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Author's Notes: My computer is also still having problems, mainly with Internet Explorer, which is what Fanfiction .net is on. The only reason I can update at all is because I go to the town library and use their public computers. It's such a pain! My computer works fine everywhere else except sites that use Internet Explorer, like Ebay, which is another one I go to a lot.

Chapter 82 is nearly done; I just have to go through and add some depth to it, so it ought to be up in a week or so.

By the way, I would have answered more of your reviews in my last Author's Notes, but apparently doesn't always send them to me. I only found the newest batch when I checked the 'stats' section.

Fuji the Hobbit asks: Will Naga appear?

No, because she ran away from the palace. It holds too many bad memories, and besides, someone might recognize her and try to make her stay.

Stara Maijka comments: --Very, very good job on the introspective thinking. I particularly liked Lina's saying loving made her stronger, not weaker, and that it was like have a fine, strong house to keep warm in. A strong house withstands the storms hitting it and the wear and tear inside. Remodeling and repairs may be necessary to adjust to changes of time, but it still stands, if there is a good foundation of trust, tolerance, and compromise. (My house has withstood 34 years so far. Yeah, compared to most of the people here, I'm an old lady. Can I still play?)

I found this expansion on my quote very beautiful. And yes, come play! It's nice to know my fic appeals to all ages.

--Dreamsinger, as long as you are mentally and emotionally strong (and carry a gun--just joking!), you don't have to fear the physically strong guys. Martial arts people physically prove that all the time. It's balance, leverage, and where an opponent's weak spots are, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally. Anyway, I think when you meet your special someone, you will be ready, if this story is any indication.

I just realized something. Yesterday at work a guy was coming through my line (I'm a cashier) and I had to ID him for alcohol and he commented on that fact. (A lot of guys think it's embarrassing to look young enough to be ID'd although where I work I have to ID them if they look under age 40--and most guys don't want to look older than 40, do they?) Anyway, this guy said something about people always thinking he was younger than he was--he was 26--and so I said I knew how he felt because although I was born in 1973, people never guess me at 31. He looked surprised and said he though I was 21, (which is around the average age I hear when people guess my age). Then he started asking me if I was married, and my internal red flag went up.

This guy wasn't particularly dangerous-looking, but after he was gone I realized that the thing that bothered me most was that _I _wanted to be the person choosing who would get interested in me. I wonder if it comes from being an author--I can make up anyone I want and they'll have all the characteristics I want and I have control over who loves whom. In real life you can't control if someone falls in love with you, unless you do things (consciously or unconsciously) to make yourself disliked or unattractive.

I wonder if that's why dating services are so popular? They're for people who like time to study the candidates and choose whom to date. And maybe they give you a sense of control, if you're feeling insecure. But they're so _expensive…_

Several people have responded to my query about which personality types they are, for which I thank you. One in particular caught my eye:

Cooking Spray: I'm an INTP like you, but on the site I visited, it said we have no aptitude fro writing but a high aptitude for math, which couldn't be more wrong in my case.

I hated math, except geometry. I always got all those equations mixed up, but I found visualizing pie charts easy. INTP's are not bad at writing, just less likely to feel the need to communicate what's in our heads to others. IN**F**P's are more likely to want to write for others.

--I'm curious on what you feel about fan fiction in general.

My reasons are much like yours--I feel unsatisfied if they leave something unfinished, like a love relationship, and it IS a good way to talk to people about things that interest me and I get practice at writing, to boot.

--Why is it that there seems to be so many literate people in the Slayers fandom?

Intellectuals like the Slayers world because, in my opinion, any fictional world that is highly developed and detailed is something we are eager to explore and enjoy all of the tiny nuances that make such stories as realistic as possible. The Slayers anime is based on a book series, so it was already highly developed before they brought it to vivacious life.

--Do you imagine scenes or voice in your head as they would be animated as you write?

It's funny…at first, yes. But after about thirty chapters I had a hard time hearing the voices, so I had to watch several episodes to fix them in my head again. I generally prefer the dubbed voices, although I have watched the first two seasons in Japanese, so I always hear Amelia adding '-san' to everybody's name in my head. And I hear a lot of sound effects, like the sounds people make when they're shocked or that 'mm' sound they use when they're mildly agreeing with someone.

By the way, I've taken several of those tests and I always seem to end up on the border between each of the last three pairs of letters. The only area I'm really extreme is in the Introvert area. So my profile would look like this: I N/S T/F P/J. Confusing, huh? I can't decide if the areas where I'm borderline are because I've had to learn the skills that apply in each area throughout my life, such as S, where even though I'd _prefer_ to be off in my mind as much as possible, I have learned to pay attention when necessary, such as while driving.

Lastly, I could tell you were an INTP by how you organized your review into categorized paragraphs, just as I always try to do. You write very coherently. You might try carrying a little notebook or a scrap of paper to write down story ideas--even just a sentence or two--to help motivate you to work on a story. I always have ideas in the most inconvenient places, like in the bathroom, or while I'm working. After I write them down, I end up thinking about them and refining the scene in my head and adding bits onto the paper as I think of them, in between customers. It's really hard to get into the right mind-frame if you've been mentally away from your story for very long, I know. Watching an episode or two of Slayers helps me get back in the right mental state, though.


	82. A Child of Mine, , First Kiss

Only Stone on the Outside

a Slayers fanfic

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

PG-15 for a bit of kissing

Note: Ame-- Zelgadis' nickname for Amelia. It means 'sweet' or 'sweets' in Japanese.

Chapter Eighty-Two: A Child of Mine / First Kiss

(STILL IN FLASHBACK MODE--THE ORACLE'S CAVE)

Zelgadis: (manages to wrinkle his stone nose) "So what is this 'mothball' spell, exactly?"

Oracle: (glows a medium blue color) "Basically it sort of pulls the non-human components from yer body and holds them in suspended animation until ya need 'em."

Zelgadis: "Holds them where?"

Oracle: "That's the beauty of this spell. You can store 'em almost anywhere--in a piece of jewelry, in a weapon, or a statue, or even inside yer body. The vessel only has ta be the size of a grain of rice, so you can keep yer Boost Brothers almost anywhere."

Zelgadis: (rolls his eyes at the blue-and-pink tinged globe and smirks) "'Boost Brothers?'"

Oracle: "Well, what would _you_ call them?"

Zelgadis (opens his mouth and then looks stumped) "Well, anyway, I'd rather not store them in something that could be lost, or stolen by an enemy, but how would I…"

Oracle: "Keep them in yer body? That's easy. Modify the spell to make them dormant unless you say a certain phrase. Pick something you won't say by accident, like 'It's time to do the bunny hop! I am _Zelgabunny!'"_

Zelgadis: (looks horrified) "No way!"

Oracle: (chortles with pink pulses of light) "All right, so pick something more dignified. Just make sure it's not something you'd ever usually say."

Zelgadis: (scowls the way he does when his friends are teasing him) "Listen, what I meant to say was _where _would I store the Boost--I mean, my demon and golem components? And is it really safe to keep them literally inside of me?"

Oracle: "They've been with ya all this time and they haven't hurt you yet, have they? Mind you, I can't _guarantee_ anything a hundred percent, but if the spell's done right they ought ta sleep quite peacefully until they're needed. And as to _where, _let's see…since you've got two to mothball, why not keep 'em in something you've got two of?"

Zelgadis: (looks pensive, then utterly panicky) "You mean my--"

Oracle: (snorts, with a ripple of green disgust, tinged with pink amusement) "Men! I meant your ears, dummy."

Zelgadis: (looks relieved) "Oh."

Oracle: (fades back to blue) "I figure if ya modify the spell just right, ya _might_ just be able to keep some of that super-hearing of yers."

Zelgadis: (his pointed blue ears twitch a little) "I can? How?"

Oracle: "Put the Brothers--they'll be merged together, by the way; it'll be hard enough ta separate your _human_ side from the mixture, let alone the two magical components--inside the bones of yer ears. That way a bit of the magic might leak through, and help keep yer ears working the way they do now."

Zelgadis touches the knuckle of his index finger to his chin, deep in thought for several minutes) _That would definitely help me gain an advantage in battle…_

Zelgadis: "Miss Oracle, if I do this, are you _sure_ nothing will go wrong?"

Oracle: (solemnly, her voice echoing around the chamber) "Nothing in the four worlds is guaranteed."

Zelgadis: (gazes at the Oracle with his usual somber, unblinking stare)

Oracle: (a pink tinge of humor swirls through the blue globe, followed by an affectionate deep rose color with a twist of purple confidence) "Except death and taxes. Or at least taxes. _But_ if ya want my opinion, you'll have _no_ problems, sweetie."

END FLASHBACK

Zelgadis sat beside the young princess on her bed, still holding her hand, explaining, "So that's what I meant by 'other options'. I decided to accept her suggestion, since she was offering me the best of both worlds, and because she seemed so sure that everything would work out all right. Of course, at the time I'd assumed that _I_ would be the one casting the spell. When I heard about you, it kind of threw me off."

Amelia bounced a little on the mattress, her eyes wide, looking more than ever like a little girl being told a story. "'Threw you off?'"

The stone man smiled a little at her enthusiastic response. "I'd intended to ask the Oracle to tell me what I would need if I decided _not_ to attempt her suggestion, and just did a de-cursing spell instead, but I got distracted. First she told me that someone loved me, and when I realized it was you, I got a bit flustered. Then she told me I'd have to ask Xellos to help…and you know how I feel about that--that--"

He censored the curse words that wanted to emerge from his mouth, not wanting to get sidetracked--however satisfying it would be to go off on a Xellos-bashing spree--and took a deep breath to calm down. Amelia's understanding grin helped.

"But what really sent me off the deep edge was when she told me about the danger to you, Amelia. I was…stunned, I guess. Angry. Horrified. To be told that I'd actually _won_ you, _and_ stood to risk losing you, almost in the same breath… Not to mention that _I'd_ be the one putting you in danger by asking you to risk casting that spell…"

Amelia opened her mouth as if to argue, then hesitated, seeming to sense how much he needed to tell this to her, and simply gave him a sympathetic, tender smile, squeezing his hand, and he loved her even more.

"I felt as if the Oracle had betrayed me, after I'd put my trust in her… She'd gotten my hopes up, and then dashed them to the ground." He looked away, staring at the far wall of Amelia's room, and finished quietly, "I didn't want anything to do with her after that."

Amelia waited for a bit, to make sure he was finished, her throat aching with sympathy. _Oh, poor Zelgadis. Torturing himself, his cure so near and yet so far, afraid to hope…_ Finally she said softly, "I know how hard it is for you to trust someone."

He nodded, glad that she understood him so well. _I don't know how I ever got lucky enough to find someone like her. She's so kind, so understanding, such a good person… Wait a minute. _"No. That's wrong," he said aloud.

"Mm?" Amelia gave him a quizzical look.

"I _do_ trust someone," he said softly. "I trust you, Amelia."

Oh, Zelgadis! Amelia's ecstatic smile could have rivaled the sun in all its brilliance. Her sapphire eyes shone with adoration as her small hand tightened on his.

His heart pounding, Zelgadis was overwhelmed for a moment by her beauty. The urge to pull her to him, to wrap his stone arms around her and clasp her tightly to his hard chest was so powerful that he was literally shaking, intoxicated by her loving ambiance.

Suddenly he felt the need to demonstrate his trust. "Amelia…dearest…" He released her hand and reached out to set each of his hands carefully on her shoulders. "I want you to choose a phrase that you can use to activate my curse."

"What?" She jerked backward in astonishment, landing with a bounce on the yellow bedspread.

He repeated, "I want you to be able to activate my curse in case I can't. In case I've been knocked out or seriously wounded and can't do it myself."

She seemed stunned, staring up at him with wide eyes, at a loss for words--unusual for her. Zelgadis waited, giving her the same courtesy she had afforded him earlier.

Ameliawas almost in shock. _He _hates_ his curse, more than anything! I can hardly believe that the Oracle talked him into keeping it at _all, _much less that he wants _me_ to be able to-- Does he really trust me that much?_

She pushed herself into a upright position, holding herself up with her arms behind her on the bed. "Zelgadis," she breathed, looking up at him with soft, wondering blue eyes, "Darling, do you really want me to have that kind of power over you?"

Abruptly Zelgadis remembered his earlier ruminations about this very subject, and realized that he finally understood what Lina had meant. _You don't worry about control, when it's someone you trust. You know they'll never deliberately use it to hurt you._

And then all of the tension, all the fears and worries and agonies he'd lived with for so long were suddenly gone. His mind was at ease, his emotions serene. His tense shoulders relaxed, and he reached out with his free hand and tenderly cupped her cheek, careful to keep his touch light. His voice was gentle as he said, "I do."

"Oh, Zelgadis!" Her arms came around him in her familiar enthusiastic hug and he found himself welcoming the sensation of being knocked backward onto the bed. Amelia lay on top of him, her face buried in his chest. "I'll never say it unless it's a matter of life or death, darling, I promise! Wild _ogres_ couldn't drag it out of me!"

He let himself lie there, appreciating the weight of her body, which not even his insensitive skin could keep him from feeling, and slowly reached up to wrap his arms around her, lightly embracing her. A smile of pure contentment spread over his face. "I know, Amelia."

Amelia let herself relax happily against her chimera, utterly at peace for the first time in months. She felt the welcome touch of his arms on her back and tried to listen for the sound of his heartbeat, breathing in the beloved smell of sun-warmed stone. She would have been content to stay like that for hours, but when she felt his hand touch her hair she looked up at his face, and was instantly lost in his eyes.

Sapphire blue met blue-green as the young couple in love gazed at each other, their faces mere inches apart. Two pairs of eyes shimmered, full of long-withheld emotions. Amelia could feel his breath on her face, and without thinking she began to lean toward him, half-closing her eyes.

Zelgadis watched the young princess move toward him, the red flush on his cheeks matching hers. His breathing stopped, his heartbeat thunderous in his own ears as he watched the exquisite pink lips come closer and closer, but at the last possible moment he said quietly, "Amelia."

She opened her eyes, looking surprised and a bit self-conscious. The two of them stared at each other, both blushing up a storm. Zelgadis cleared his throat, feeling guilty for having broken the mood, and said awkwardly, "I'm sorry…but there's something else, something really important that I think we ought to talk about before we go through with all this."

He could read the disappointment in her eyes, but she said gamely, "Okay," and moved off of him, sitting next to him on the bed, her legs folded decorously to one side in a way he found extraordinarily attractive.

As he rose to his former sitting position, his countenance became serious. "Amelia, if we…that is, in the future…" His voice trailed off awkwardly as his courage failed, blushing yet again as she gazed up at him with those trusting eyes that disarmed him with their innocence.

Then he saw the beginnings of worry in her face, and decided to come at this problem in an oblique way. "Well…first of all, you do realize that as a human, my powers might not be as strong, and I definitely won't be as good a swordsman."

The uncertainty in her eyes firmed. "Then we'll practice together, won't we?" She smiled. "And as for your magic… Look at Daddy. He can't use magic at all, but he's one of the best rulers Seyrune has ever had."

Zelgadis frowned, slightly annoyed at being compared to the flamboyant, sometimes overly-vociferous Prince, and realized for the first time that he might have to compete with the big man for Amelia's attention, since she'd always been 'Daddy's little girl'.

He looked away, grumbling, "Well, I'm not exactly _useless_ as a mage--I _am_ Rezo's grandson, after all." He blinked, surprised at his own remark. _How things have changed, when I can claim such a lineage with a certain amount of pride. I didn't realize that what the Oracle said about it being Shabranigdo's fault for cursing me, not Rezo's, would ease my hatred of the man…but the heavy burden I've carried for so long feels lighter now._

He smiled slightly as he gazed across the room at the quaint collection of knights and horses arranged in dramatic poses on the cherry dresser. _And Amelia has a lot to do with it, too… I feel calmer, more at ease than I have in so many years. I think one day soon I'll be able to let go of that weight completely, and move on with my life…and that includes planning for the future. Our future._

Amelia watched the gamut of emotions run across the stone man's face, and was glad when he seemed to settle whatever had been bothering him. His shoulders straightened and he turned to her with an open, oddly apologetic expression, tinged with embarrassment and just a hint of longing.

"Listen, Amelia…I know…" he paused to swallow, and took a deep breath, "that as a member of the ruling family, you will be required to…produce at least one heir to the throne…"

Amelia's eyes widened and she looked down, feeling her cheeks burning. _With everything that's been going on, we haven't really had a chance to talk about any of that…but he's right. Eventually…_

She nodded in affirmation, wondering where he was going with this.

"If my cure is successful and we are allowed to wed, are you sure you--" he hesitated, "Are you sure you want me to be the father of your children?"

He watched her carefully, looking for signs of doubt, reluctance, or even disgust, but instead, the young princess' face softened. "Oh, so _that's_ it," she murmured, her tone relieved and affectionate. "Of course I do, silly…"

As gratified as he was to hear that, he forced himself to say, "Wait, Amelia. Think about this. What if it's dangerous for you to carry a child of mine? What if the child is born…abnormal? Are you _absolutely sure _it's a risk you want to take?"

Amelia, who had already begun to imagine adorable little sky-blue babies with fluffy black hair and bright teal eyes, was brought up short by the genuine concern in the chimera's voice. His teal eyes shimmered with emotion as he locked his gaze on hers. _He looks so worried…_

For his sake, she made herself think carefully about the problems he'd posed, unconsciously setting the side of her forefinger against her chin, her deep blue eyes turned inward.

The room was quiet for a while. Zelgadis had to quash his urge to move, to let his feet twitch or do something to let off some of his sudden burst of nervous energy as he waited for her answer. _In Gaderi's journal he had three normal children, but then, _his_ curse was completely lifted. _Mine_ will still be with me. Who knows what could happen?_

Amelia's face…the last time I saw it look like that was when she was trying to convince me to let her go into Ponmar's cave to rescue the others. She seems so much older now, more mature than she was even just two months ago when this whole amazing, eye-opening adventure began.

He _did_ twitch when Amelia suddenly turned to him and said firmly, "Yes. I'll risk it." Her expression was both solemn and serene, her tone affectionate as she continued, "Not only because I love you very much, but also because I believe that any child of yours will be just as thoughtful, just as caring, just as _special_ as you are--with or without cute pointed ears!"

She gave him a mischievous smile, becoming the Amelia he knew best, but in her eyes he read the underlying seriousness, and knew that, like him, she too had been changed by their experiences. _Wisdom. Knowing yourself, and what you want, and being truly prepared to do what you must, with fortitude, to make it happen._

Then she added boldly, "And _if_ a child of ours is born with some…unusual quality, then I say, 'good'!"

He blinked at her sudden vehemence.

She put her hands on her hips. "It's about _time_ the people around here got over what happened to the city because of Miss Lina and those mazoku. It'll do them good. Daddy has worked very hard to improve relations between humans and non-humans, both in Seyrune and in all the kingdoms we trade with. It's been one of his main goals since he came to power, and he's changed so many things in just a generation! I want to do everything I can to support him."

Her father again. The stone man was a little taken aback by the sudden almost-justice speech, not to mention the history lesson that unexpectedly applied quite intimately to himself, and reminded himself once again that Prince Philionel would always be a major focus in Amelia's life.

And despite myself, I keep learning things about the man that make me respect him. It's easy to dismiss him as a sentimental fool, but…he really does know how to rule. He has everyone's best interests at heart, and the people know it. That's why they go along when he proposes things like this 'human-non-human relations' thing.

He found himself relaxing a little. _Come to think of it, he'd probably have no trouble accepting an odd-looking grandchild or two. And… _He smiled tenderly at his princess, who had turned to gaze across the room at the toy knights on her dresser._ I'm sure Amelia will love all of her children, no matter how strange they may look._

"And as for any danger to me," Amelia continued quietly, "Women have always taken that chance to have a family. But I'm a white magic priestess, and we have some of the best healers in the world living right here in Seyrune, so don't worry." She turned back to look at him, her big eyes full of surety. "Everything will be all right."

That optimism of hers. It's her nature to always look on the bright side. But true to his own darker nature, one final obstacle occurred to him. His lips quirked, and one stony eyebrow raised. "Oh, yeah? So what happens if someday I have to use the reverting clause and change back into a chimera?"

Amelia blinked. "Couldn't we just cure you again?"

"I don't--" Zelgadis froze with his mouth open, one finger in the air. _Wait a minute._

Amelia asked, "Did the Oracle say you could only use your cure once?"

Amelia watched with amusement as Zelgadis imitated a stone statue yet again, obviously flummoxed by what had seemed to be common sense to her._ He _did_ ask to be completely free of the curse forever, so why would the Oracle convince him to use this 'mothball' spell unless he can use it over and over?_

"I suppose that makes sense," Zelgadis said slowly. "As long as I have the right people available to cure me."

"Oh, you're impossible!" Amelia scowled at him. "Do you always have to look at the dark side? Why can't you just believe that everything will turn out all right for once?"

Zelgadis was startled. _I thought I was. _"I'm sorry," he said contritely.

Amelia gave him a look of exasperated affection. "Oh, what am I going to do with you?" she half-laughed, patting his knee.

"Love me?" he suggested playfully, watching her hand, which she had not removed from his knee.

This time Amelia's laugh rang out loud and true. "Yes!" she said joyfully. "You need me. You need someone who will love you and appreciate you, who will play music with you, who will make you laugh when you've gone into one of your moods..." Her voice softened. "Someone who will understand you, trust you, confide in you..."

"Ame," he murmured, reveling in the warm, tingling surge of love her words had evoked. In the back of his mind he noted the delighted flush delicately coloring her nose and cheeks. _I must remember to use that nickname more often._ "And _you_ need someone competent, someone with a better grasp of the dark side of things to look out for you, to protect you from treachery and deceit, someone who will support you when you go off on one of your crusades, and always be by your side."

She gazed at him for a long moment, her eyes shining, and then she whispered, "Are you volunteering?"

For just a moment he wondered why she was asking a question that he had obviously just answered, and then it hit him. _That's the same thing she asked me back at the inn. _His mind was flooded with scenes from that strange, wonderful/terrible night, when he had felt duty-bound to refuse her, and then spent the rest of the night with her in his arms.

I can't blame her for being uncertain--all I've given her since this whole thing started was mixed signals. Then he had an idea. _It might be a bit late for it now, but…_

Amelia was surprised when Zelgadis stood up and then turned to face her, taking her hand and gracefully sinking down to set one knee on the shaggy yellow rug next to her bed. "Yes, I _am_ volunteering--for now and forever. Amelia wil Tesla Seyrune…will you marry me?"

His blue-green eyes, looking up into hers, were full of hope, love and desire, eyes that saw nothing but her, and their future together.

"Oh," Amelia stumbled, flustered and eager, "Of course, I--I mean, yes." She gazed down at him with sapphire eyes softly glowing with adoration. "Yes, I will."

Zelgadis was rewarded with the sight of her beautiful smile, lighting her face with joy like a sunrise. A rush of love for her made him feel giddy--the entire world was suddenly a wonderful place to be, full of dreams that sometimes, in spite of everything, really did come true.

Then Amelia slid off of edge of the bed and landed next to him, kneeling on the rug so that her face was directly in front of his. "Oh, Zelgadis," she murmured, her voice slightly husky, halfway between laughing and crying. And she leaned toward him.

He watched in anticipation, gladly waiting to accept her kiss, and only a tiny twinge of hesitation on her behalf made him pull back. "Amelia, wouldn't you rather wait until after I'm--"

"Oh, no you don't!" she laughed, and took hold of the front of his tunic. "I've waited long enough!"

She put her other hand on his cheek and slowly moved in to him, pressing her soft lips to his stone ones, her eyes closing. Zelgadis closed his eyes as well, noticing the gentle pressure against his lips that was Amelia.

Amelia…my Amelia. Rising joy, love and a powerful surge of desire stirred within the stone man, and he reached out to set his hands on her back, fighting to keep from holding her too tightly. He wished there was some way he could feel closer to her.

And then--something happened. Something strange was happening to his mouth--the one place where he still was able to feel--and taste, when he had meals. His eyes opened, and he stared at the close-up view of Amelia, whose slender dark brows were drawn tight in concentration, and then he realized what it was. _I--I can feel her. I think--I think I feel her tongue--?_

Automatically he opened his mouth wider and moved his own tongue to investigate. Amelia's warm soft tongue met his, and he stiffened involuntarily at the intense lightning bolt that shot through his entire body. _This is…incredible, _he whispered mentally, his fists clenching involuntarily against Amelia's back against the tide of feeling that surged within him. _For the first time in so many years, I'm actually touching another human being, really _touching_ her, skin to skin, as all humans were meant to. It's…wonderful!_

His tightly-closed eyes stung with tears, and if he had spoken just then, his voice would have broken, so overcome was he by the wealth of sensation. He felt alive again, as every part of his body tingled inside in reaction to the bright hot immediate feel of _something touching him, _not buffered into dullness by a layer of magic stone.

How long they kissed, he wasn't sure, but when they finally parted to look into each other's eyes, Zelgadis realized that Amelia was breathing heavily--and so was he. _Incredible, _he thought again.

As he got his breathing under control, he realized that another part of him, much lower, had also responded to her, and he blushed a little, wondering when Amelia would notice. "Thank you," he said to her, deeply grateful. "It…didn't hurt, did it?"

Her expression was full of wonder. "Maybe a little…" A tiny pink flush appeared over her nose, and she dropped her gaze, murmuring, "I think we just need some practice."

He saw her eyes widen as she got a good look at his lap, and she blushed harder and let go of his tunic.

"I…never knew kissing could be like that," she confessed.

"Me neither," he admitted.

Amelia looked up at him with wide eyes. "Was that…your first kiss?"

Zelgadis nodded uncomfortably. _Men my age aren't supposed to be virgins…_

Amelia beamed at him. "Mine, too."

Zelgadis was a bit startled. _She's not disappointed?_

Amelia said softly, "I'm glad it was you. A girl's first kiss is really important to her, and I've been wanting to kiss you for so long... I wondered what you tasted like. I mean, your smell…" She looked a little flustered. "Not that it's bad! You just smell like, well, a stone in the sun, and I wondered what you might taste like. I didn't even think about your tongue…"

Her voice trailed off and she gazed off into the distance. "No wonder people like kissing so much! I wonder…if Miss Lina and Mister Gourry have--" She shook her head as if to dispel that thought and looked brightly up at Zelgadis. "I really liked that."

Like a child with a new game, Zelgadis thought, amused, and answered with a grin of his own, "You'll like it a lot better once I'm cured."

"Oh, right! Your cure!" Amelia stood up, grabbed the Oracle's music orb from the bed and headed for the door. "I need to start practicing; will you keep Shiran with you until-- Hey!"

As she threw open the door, Lina, Gourry, Shiran and Prince Philionel were revealed. The three humans had their ears pressed against the now-absent door, frozen in guilty surprise.

"How _could_ you?" Amelia cried. Zelgadis, looking over Amelia's shoulder, was surprised to notice a red aura beginning to appear around the young woman.

Her hands clenched, and she growled, _"How _dare_ you?"_

Instantly her father and friends leaped to their feet and backing away, protesting at the top of their lungs.

"Lina _made_ me--"

"A father has to--"

"You guys were taking too long!" Lina's bellow drowned out the others. "We didn't practically kill ourselves to get back here in time just to have you guys blow everything 'cause you decided to get all lovey-dovey!"

Zelgadis scowled and began to say something, but then he noticed Amelia and decided to keep his mouth shut as the young princess stiffened, slowly turning her head to focus her gaze on the red-haired sorceress. A deadly red aura blazed into life around her, and her shining black hair lifted into the air, fluttering on wings of ire.

Zelgadis winced. _Now she's done it! The last time I saw Amelia this angry--well, let's just say this time I'm glad it's not _me_ she's mad at!_

Standing behind the enraged princess, Zelgadis Greywyrs was witness to something that few people ever saw: a thoroughly terrified Lina Inverse. Her ruby irises were mere pinpoints in a face rapidly draining of all color, her mouth set in a fear-grimace, her red-gold hair sticking out in all directions like a pincushion. The two men in the doorway were also transfixed with fear, their eyes bugging out, hair on end, with a confused Shiran cowering behind them.

"Lina." Amelia's tone was low and deadly, and Zelgadis did not miss how she left out the respectful 'miss'. "I appreciate everything you've done for me--for us…_but _if you don't leave my sight _in the next ten seconds I'm going to--!"_

Shoom! The stone man blinked at the three vapor trails left in the air by the rapidly fleeing trio.

Shiran cringed in the doorway, not understanding what she'd done wrong but knowing that her bonded one was furious. Amelia looked at the fearful dragonwolf and almost instantly calmed down. The red aura faded, her raven hair sank down to curl around her shoulders and her tense form relaxed. "It's okay, Shirry--I'm not mad at _you." _She knelt down and the bewildered, grateful animal came to her at once and began licking her face.

After a minute Amelia lifted her face to look up into Zelgadis', letting Shiran snuffle her hair with her large purple nose. "Sorry about that," she said contritely.

Zelgadis gave her a proud smile. "Sorry for what? For finally showing Lina and your father that you're an adult now, that you don't need a keeper or someone to make your decisions for you?"

Amelia's eyes shone with happiness. _An _adult? _Finally, he sees me as an adult! I should have told Miss Lina off ages ago!_

"But…maybe you should give the music orb a try. You might need to practice for a while to get it down…" he said tentatively, not wanting to set her off again.

Amelia sighed, her shoulders drooping as she stood up. "I know." She took a deep breath and turned quickly to face him, her fist clenched in front of her and a determined sparkle in her eyes. "Don't worry, Zelgadis--I'm going to work my hardest and master that spell before midnight. You can count on me!"

She took off running down the hall in the direction of the music room, with Shiran trotting smoothly beside her. Suddenly she wheeled around, dashed back to the startled chimera and threw her arms around his shoulders, pulling his head down toward hers. He was too surprised to move as she pressed her lips to his in a quick kiss, said, "I love you," and dashed off again. "Shiran, remain," she called back over her shoulder.

Long after her footsteps had faded, he stood there in the doorway wearing a vague smile, thinking about everything that had happened in the last half-hour, replaying his favorite bits in his mind. When a young maid passed by, giving him an odd glance, he came to himself and realized that he ought to move out of the doorway. _I don't know if any of the servants know about me, but even if I were human it's not exactly appropriate to be seen poking around the princess' private bedroom._

He didn't feel quite comfortable waiting for Amelia in her bedchambers. _Hm… Maybe I'll go look for Kerrin._

Author's Notes: I'm working on chapter 84 right now. Say, does anyone know of a type of stone other than ruby that has the exact same color as a red rose? I can't think of any, but I need a semi-precious stone that's true red, not orange-red. Why, you ask? (chuckles) You'll just hafta wait and see! 

**Ichiban Victory comments:** I also never had the impression that the other parts of his body's chemistry would have any actual voice. Rezo changed his body, not his soul. That would have to be unnerving to think that perhaps you're not entirely yourself...

It seems logical to me--if you are a chimera, where did the other parts of you come from? Were they sentient before they were merged with you? And if so, are they still here? Unnerving indeed…

I've read a few fanfics that deal with Zel fighting against his demon side--I especially like one called Crush, by Wills, on FF. net. Well-written, although incomplete the last time I checked it. The site 'Deviantart' has a couple of cool fanpics of this fic by Zanne, a wonderful artist who's done fanpics of Only Stone on the Outside, so if you've got time, you might want to check them out…  
  
--Where'd you read that INFPs (hey, that's me!) enjoy writing for others? Might explain a few stories I've written, because if they were solely for me they'd not be the way they are. And you'd better be careful with the cashiering job. I've been doing it for a while now, and I've been losing a lot of my introverted tendencies. (Last time I took the test I was nearly borderline!) -

Oh, I can be extraverted at times--almost no one is at the extreme end of the scale--but overall, I like being alone best.


	83. Chapter 83: The Final Stretch, , Wate...

Only Stone on the Outside

a Slayers fanfic

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

PG-13 -- for a weird 'kiss' description

Note: Otar is pronounced OH-tar

Rokan is pronounced ROH-kahn

Chapter Eighty-Three: The Final Stretch / Water Fun

"Mister Xellos--are you here? Mister--oh, there you are." Amelia entered the music room to see the apparent man patiently waiting near her discarded guiolin.

He's still wearing the gem we borrowed. She felt a pang of wistfulness. _The one Zelgadis liked because he said it matched my eyes. _She tilted her head._ Hm. Maybe that would make a nice wedding gift--a sapphire ornament to fasten his cape with._

"Are you ready to continue?" Xellos shrugged. "May I remind you that I don't particularly care if you succeed or not, but once I commit myself to a goal, I _do_ try my best to succeed."

"Oh, yes--I'm sorry. Zelgadis and I had some things we had to--discuss," she said awkwardly, remembering their first kiss. She tried not to blush.

I'd dreamed of kissing Zelgadis for so long… It was…strange, but good. His tongue was so soft and warm, so unlike the rest of him… And yet, somehow it felt right. He's the same way--tough on the outside, kind and gentle on the inside…

Her eyes unfocused as she recalled the exact feeling of reaching out to touch his tongue with her own, despite the hard barrier of stone that separated them. _I've felt something like that before… Oh, I know! When I was a child, I used to buy a type of candy--a big, hard ball like a lollipop, but there was a soft, sugary filling inside. I used to nibble until I'd made hole big enough, then I would stretch out my tongue and lick all the filling I could reach. Then I'd nibble some more… It was fun. I could do something like that for hours…_

"Yes," Xellos answered dryly, making her jump as the world came back into focus. He raised an eyebrow at her. "I can imagine. I was with your friends while they were spying on your 'discussion', but when things threatened to turn…amorous…I became quite nauseated, so I decided to leave and wait for you here."

"Oh--you--heard?" Now Amelia knew she was _definitely_ blushing--and that Xellos was probably enjoying the treat. She was mortified. _It's bad enough to have my friends listen to our conversation, but Mister_ Xellos? _I wonder if he felt me thinking about Zelgadis just now?_

"Yes, I was there, up until the part where Zelgadis was asking you about young Kerrin." Xellos gave her a sly reverse-wink, opening one eerie pale amethyst eye. "I gather he was still worried that you might just choose the boy over him, when you finally get to see him as a human."

For just a moment Amelia wondered if Zelgadis would look anything like his present form when he became human. Then she shook her head. "Not any more. We had a long talk…and then he asked me to marry him. Of his own free will." She smiled in fond remembrance.

Xellos nodded, seeming to lose interest in the conversation now that Amelia was past her embarrassment. "Well, shall we continue?"

"Oh, wait." Amelia pulled the small golden orb from her fuzzy pink carry-pouch. She hadn't wanted to take the chance of dropping it in her dash through the vast palace. "Zelgadis gave me this. He says the Oracle gave it to him."

"Oh, really?" A brief, calculating expression flashed over the mazoku's face before it settled into a look of mild curiosity. "What does it do?" he asked innocently, reaching out to lift it from Amelia's hand.

"It plays the music we need for the spell."

Xellos jerked his hand away as if Amelia had offered him a fireball. "Oh," he said, looking a bit flustered. "I see."

His violent reaction startled her a bit. _I wonder if mazoku can use something made with holy magic? _"All right, Mister Xellos, let's see what it does. You may want to cover your ears." She focused on the golden orb, and slowly it began to glow. Wonder grew on the young girl's face as she heard the first lovely notes, and Xellos gritted his teeth in pain.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Zelgadis recalled how much his cousin loved animals, and found him tending to Sunshine in the barn behind the palace. He was wary at first, wondering if the youth resented being cast aside for his own cousin, but Kerrin showed no signs of resentment, and before long they were talking as if no time had passed since Zelgadis' departure from the Greywyrs estate.

Zelgadis found himself remembering the little things--his cousin's speech mannerisms, how he always ran his hand through his hair when he was upset or excited, even his favorite foods. _His voice hasn't gotten much deeper, even if he _is_ a good deal taller since the last time I saw him. He looks a little older, not bad-looking by any means… Come to think of it, Amelia once described her fiance as 'cute', didn't she?_

"Have you had any girlfriends?"

"No…not really. I was sent to an all-boys' academy." Kerrin pushed a tuft of his auburn hair to one side and sighed. "Miss Amelia was the first girl I was ever really serious about."

Zelgadis gave him a sharp look. "'Was.' So you've really given up on her?"

Kerrin's brown eyes were sorrowful. "Well…I'm not happy about it, but it would be useless for me to try to woo her away from you. Anyone can see it."

"See what?"

"That she's madly in love with you."

A slight pink flush appeared over the chimera's nose, and he looked away. The sight of his discomfort made Kerrin smile. "You should have heard her talk about you at the ball," he said mischievously.

Zelgadis cleared his throat, his blush increasing. He rubbed the back of his neck with a stone hand, riffling through the wire hair with a silvery metallic sound. "Yes, well…"

Apparently his tender-hearted cousin decided he'd done enough teasing, for he turned away and began running a brush over Sunshine's golden coat. "Well, anyway, I can't say I envy you, Li," he said lightly, "having to learn to run a whole kingdom. One clan is enough for me."

Zelgadis stared at him. The top of Kerrin's head, covered with his familiar mane of unruly red-brown hair, was only a few inches higher than the tall mare's back. In the yellow lamp-light, the young man looked rather small and vulnerable, and it brought forth the stone man's protective side--and something else.

All of his life Zelgadis Greywyrs had had to fight, sometimes winning and sometimes losing, but he'd never won over an opponent whom he cared about or respected as much as he did Kerrin…and _never_ had he been the victor in a rivalry over a woman. It was an unusual feeling, wanting to extend a magnanimous hand to the loser, but as he looked at the young man who stood there, trying bravely to swallow his disappointment and smile cheerfully, he was moved to do something for his cousin.

Impulsively, he stepped forward and placed a gentle stone hand on the youth's narrow shoulder. As Kerrin turned to look at him, Zelgadis said, "Rin…after Amelia gets to know you a little better, I'll ask her to introduce you to someone nice."

Kerrin's eyes widened a little, and Zelgadis suddenly felt awkward. He dropped his hand, mumbling, "She has a lot of friends, so I'm told… I'm sure there's a wonderful, sweet girl out there somewhere who will be just right for you."

"Thanks." Kerrin sounded slightly surprised. Zelgadis looked up, his head tilted inquiringly, and the youth elaborated, "I've never known you to be so concerned with courting before. You used to scorn women."

"That's because women used to scorn _me." _Zelgadis smiled wryly, and his cousin laughed.

Shiran nudged the youth with her long, graceful muzzle, asking to be let in on the happiness. Kerrin reached out a hand and stroked the fluffy sheaf of purple hair between her long tapered ears, which the tall beast accepted with dignity.

"I'm surprised she let you pet her," Zelgadis remarked. Shiran turned to look up at him, her emerald eyes glowing peaceably.

"Why?"

"She's a dragonwolf. She usually doesn't pay much attention to other people besides Amelia and myself--she's bonded with us." He looked thoughtfully down at the beautiful lavender beast. "I suppose she senses that you're important to me. She'll probably protect you if you're ever in danger." _Like her 'sheep', _he thought to himself, amused.

"A dragonwolf? I've never heard of them," Kerrin said curiously.

"Well, technically she's a chimera--it's a long story. She was created to be a guardian."

Kerrin looked fascinated. "You mean not all chimeras are awful, twisted monsters?" the youth asked with the impulsiveness that Zelgadis remembered, and then he blushed. "Not that _you're_ a monster--it's just--I knew you before you got--and I remember what you looked like, so of _course_ I see how different you look now."

Zelgadis remembered why he sometimes used to look for places where he could be alone when he was younger. _Rin still doesn't think much before he speaks._

Kerrin must have noticed the stone man's pained expression, for he added hastily, "But you didn't change _that_ much--I recognized you right away, didn't I? And it didn't make a difference to me. You're still _Li; _still my favorite cousin."

And I remember now why I used to spend so much time with him. He has a good heart…like Amelia. Perhaps that's what drew me to her in the first place. Subconsciously, she reminded me of the one person I valued most.

Kerrin was still looking anxiously at him, and Zelgadis smiled. "Amelia tells me you're going to be my brother soon."

"What?"

The chimera's smile widened. _I always did love to surprise him. His reaction are priceless._ "She says her father's taken to you. Apparently, that means you'll be treated more like a brother than a cousin-by-marriage."

"Really? So I'll get to be your brother for real?"

Zelgadis nodded, and watched his cousin's face light up with a huge grin, losing some of his freckles in the creases. "Wahoo!"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Amelia took a deep breath and let it out in a pure, clear note, matching her voice as well as she could to the exquisite music produced by the golden orb. Xellos, now wearing enormous fuzzy purple earmuffs, nodded and gave her the 'OK' sign. Amelia smiled with relief. _I _have_ to get this right._ _I won't fail Zelgadis, no matter what!_

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Hours passed. The two cousins caught up on family news. They spoke of magic, horses, hedge-hurdling races, and swordsmanship, but after a while the chimera began to notice the odd, wistful looks that Kerrin kept giving him. "What's wrong?"

"Well…you aren't exactly the Li I remember. You…you don't laugh as much as you used to."

Quietly, he said, "I haven't exactly had much to laugh about in the last four years."

Kerrin looked even more concerned. "You're more serious, almost…bitter. When you do make a joke, there's always a dark side to it."

Zelgadis suddenly remembered the scene in Amelia's bedroom. "Sorry…I guess I _have_ become a little pessimistic, after all these years. Lina and Amelia have both been scolding me about it lately. I promised myself I would try to think more positively from now on." He gave his cousin a roguish grin, reminiscent of their younger days together. "You'll help me, won't you?"

Kerrin blinked, then responded in kind. "Sure. I can help you remember how to have fun, old timer."

Caught off guard, Zelgadis' mouth dropped open before he could stop himself. _"What?"_

His cousin responded with a burst of laughter and bent down to grab a handful of straw from the floor, tossing it in Zelgadis' direction and scampering off toward the end of the barn.

"Why, you--you come back here!" Chuckling, the chimera sprinted off after his young cousin, his heart light.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Amelia lifted her glass and took a few swallows of cool, soothing water, feeling her heartbeat gradually slow. She took out a pink handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her brow, glad that her bangs were out of the way, still fastened in the topknot that Zelgadis had tied for her every day of their trip since they'd lost the Woodwind.

The stone man had been so driven to return to the palace that he had grown impatient with even the most necessary of chores, so every morning she had grabbed her brush and whisked away the night's snarls as fast as she could, then presented herself in front of the chimera with white ribbon in hand, sweetly asking him to tie it for her.

The first couple of times he tried to brush me off. I think he was embarrassed because Miss Lina and Mister Gourry were watching. '"Not right now, Amelia. We've got to get moving,"' he'd say. '"It'll only take a minute,"' I'd answer, and he'd look over at the others and see that they were smiling, but not as if they were making fun of him, and he'd sigh and say, '"Fine. Come stand over here." ' By the third day he seemed to be over his embarrassment, and just tied my bow with a nod and a smile.

I wonder if I should grow my hair out? I still think this hairstyle is childish, but there's lots of things you can do with long hair, things that I could ask Zelgadis to help me with…

She reached for her glass and drained it. _It's a good thing the Oracle's song isn't too hard. We've got all the words matched to the music already. Mister Xellos says it's good enough, but I won't be satisfied with just 'good enough'. There's still a few places that I think need a little work. I'll only have one chance to get this right--it has to be _perfect!

She took a deep breath and then winced, placing a hand to her throat and casting Healing. The raw, throbbing feeling inside her throat diminished, and she stood up, reaching for the golden orb. _Don't worry, Zelgadis, I'm almost done…_

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Listen, Rin…I'm sorry you got stuck with my title." Though his tone was serious, Zelgadis' mouth quirked at one corner as he spoke, aware of the irony. _Clan leader…most men would covet such a position. _Yet his gentle cousin was even less suited to the title than he had been. 

Typically, Kerrin only shrugged and said, "It's not so bad."

Zelgadis eyed his cousin, who was sitting next to him on a pile of straw near the barn doors. "It's not?"

"Sometimes in life you have to resign yourself to situations you can't change, and try to look for ways to make a happy life anyway. I still have a lot of fun."

Zelgadis couldn't hold back a grin. "That sounds like something Amelia would say," he remarked, half admiring, half teasing. "Of course, she loves the idea of dispensing justice, so she's willing to put up with the drawbacks of being a princess."

"I remember how everyone treated you before you went away…but I don't have it as bad as you did," Kerrin explained. "I was sent away to school for four years. I learned how to ride, how to give orders (when I was put in charge of a team), and how to fight. The family seems to respect me, maybe because I didn't grow up at home, so they see the adult Kerrin as someone different from the child they used to know. Our older cousins tried to challenge me a few times, but after I defeated most of them on the sparring grounds, they stopped."

The young man shifted to sit cross-legged in the straw. "I can still see the surprise in people's eyes sometimes, but no one seems to want me to step down, so don't worry about me. I'll be all right."

Zelgadis' eyes narrowed. _Unless someone uses more clandestine means to get rid of him. I'm glad he's going to be living here, where I can keep an eye on him. Just because I want to have brighter hopes for the future doesn't mean I want to take foolish risks. _"What about Otar? He's not the type to back down so easily."

"Oh…" His cousin's bright brown eyes dimmed. "He and Rokan are dead. They killed each other in a duel."

Silently, Zelgadis digested this news. _Good. The worst of the lot are gone. Most of the rest were divided into factions, depending on which potential clan leader they supported, so if we can make alliances with those few, the rest will fall into line._

"Listening to Miss Amelia made me think. She said I could use my position to raise the standards of the morals in the family." Kerrin smiled slightly. "Now, I don't know how much I can do to influence the older family members, but most of the younger people… Well, we have eight children younger than me, and the older cousins are starting to marry off. Pretty soon there will be a whole new generation to teach. Growing up in Seyrune will be good for them."

Zelgadis nodded approvingly. _He has the right attitude._

"And Prince Philionel has been teaching me leadership techniques," Kerrin piped up.

Zelgadis facefaulted sideways right into the pile of straw, picturing his impressionable young cousin turned into a Prince Phil clone, all loud voice and hearty attitude, a brash, egotistical--if well-meaning--Defender of Justice. _Just what I need--_another_ one in the family! As if two isn't enough…_

"That's…nice," he managed to say as he sat up, stifling his more negative comments. "Listen, Rin…I promise to do everything I can to support you."

"Thank you, Li." Kerrin's eyes shone as he vowed, "And _I_ promise to do everything I can to make the Greywyrs name an honorable one."

Zelgadis bowed his head, and his cousin returned the gesture of respect.

For a while, there was quiet in the large barn. Zelgadis took a deep, relaxing breath, enjoying the soothing smells of hay, wood, and horses, listening to the chirping of the night insects and the quiet, heavy movements of sleepy horses. He leaned back against the barn wall, closing his eyes against the yellow glow of the oil lamp, feeling a curious sense of peace. _One way or the other, this is all going to be over with very soon._

"Hey, Li?"

"Mm?"

"Are you going to keep your name when you marry Miss Amelia?"

Languidly, Zelgadis murmured, "I hadn't really thought about it."

"Because--"

Zelgadis' pointed ears twitched. "Hush, Rin." He lifted his chin, listening. "Someone's calling."

Kerrin jumped to his feet. "Do you think they're ready?" 

Zelgadis pushed his crossed feet against the floorboards and rose gracefully. "Let's go see."

Outside, it was a full moon, illuminating the palace grounds with bright silver light. Zelgadis was stunned when he realized its position. "It's late!"

"Mister Greywyrs! Mister Greywyrs!"

A young page came bounding across the yard. "They're ready for you, Mister Greywyrs. I'm to take you to get changed immediately."

All of the easy, relaxed feeling disappeared. _"Changed?" _he exclaimed, aghast. "What do you mean, changed? We haven't got time for that; look at the moon!"

The young boy shuffled his feet in the dirt. "It's just past eleven, according to the big tower clock. Miss Amelia is already getting ready."

"This is ridiculous!" Zelgadis growled. "What if the spell takes an hour to cast? What is she _thinking _of?"

Beside him, Kerrin ran a hand through his auburn hair. "She _has_ spent the whole night practicing…" he said mildly.

In other words, she knows what she's doing. "Fine." He glared down at the cowering page. "Don't just stand there, take me to wherever they're waiting for me!"

"Yes, sir!" The page broke into a run toward the palace, with the two older men at his heels.

Zelgadis and Kerrin were met by a tall, thin older gentleman with a neat gray mustache in the main entryway. "Who are you?" Zelgadis asked suspiciously.

Shiran sniffed the man's knee, but did not seem inclined to think he was dangerous.

"My name is Andon, sir," the man said briskly, glancing down at Shiran, but otherwise showing remarkable poise at being faced with the large dragonwolf. "I am head of the household staff, and Miss Amelia has asked me to see to your needs before you meet her for the ceremony. If you will both follow me, sirs." He bowed his head slightly and began walking down the main hall, his boots echoing on the black marble floor.

Zelgadis exchanged a bewildered glance with Kerrin, who shrugged, and then both of them fell into step behind the rapid strides of the tall gentleman. Shiran trotted at Zelgadis' side, her fluffy tail held in a high, lazy curl.

Head of staff, huh? Well, he seems competent enough, but what's this about our 'needs'?

Zelgadis had just opened his mouth to ask when Andon stopped in front of a door and opened it. He stepped aside and gestured to the two younger men, who automatically entered the room and then stopped short.

An enormous black marble bathing pool filled with greenish herbal-water steamed serenely in front of them. There were little stools and other bathing items nearby on the tiled floor.

"Are you crazy?" Zelgadis protested. "We haven't got time for a bath!"

"Miss Amelia insisted, sir," Andon said quietly, but firmly. "Both of you are to bathe and change clothing with utmost haste. I was also told to inform you that there will be a special ceremony preceding the wedding. Miss Amelia specifically stated that it would not take long."

Zelgadis clenched his fists, furious about the delay, but one glance at Kerrin made him notice the smear of dirt on the youth's cheek and his dusty, mussed-looking hair. _He must have gotten like that while we were in the barn--and we were only in there for a few hours. I must look terrible, too… The last bath we all had was when we stayed at that inn, which was over a week ago, wasn't it?_

Shiran was beginning to growl, reacting to his anger. "Hush, Shiran," he said, and she quieted.

The waiting water did look inviting. "Fine," he muttered. _I hope Amelia knows what she's doing._ He turned to face Andon. "Call us in ten minutes," he said tersely. "Ten. No more."

Andon bowed. "Understood, sir." He closed the door, leaving Zelgadis in a bathing area with someone other than Gourry for the first time since he'd been cursed.

His young cousin immediately began pulling off his clothes, dropping them hither and yon and heading for the stools, an anxious look on his face. Shiran went over to the bathing pool, sniffed the water and then put out a large pink tongue, lapping at the green water. She seemed to think it was tasty enough.

Zelgadis hesitated. _It's one thing to bathe with Gourry--he's never cared what I looked like--but _Kerrin…_ I know we took baths together when we were younger, but now, when I look like _this…

"Hurry up, Li," Kerrin called over his shoulder as he knelt to scoop up some water with one of the small wooden buckets, dousing himself. "What are you _doing_ over there?"

Zelgadis jumped, then began tugging off the new clothes that Amelia had given him, mentally shoving aside his qualms. He set the clothes in a neat pile near the door, then made himself walk to the other stool and sit down, facing away from Kerrin.

He looked into the small wooden bucket and noticed, after a moment, that there was a small, stiff-bristled wooden brush along with the soap and other ordinary bathing implements. _Was this Amelia's doing, or someone else's? Maybe that Andon? If so, he really is competent, noticing that my skin can take rougher treatment, and taking steps to provide me with this brush. I'll have to thank him later. I can bathe a lot easier this way. _

He emptied the bathing implements on the floor, then knelt by the pool and used the bucket to scoop up the herbal-scented water and soak himself, then brought the half-full bucket back to his stool.

A busily-scrubbing Kerrin looked up at him as he walked by, and the chimera winced reflexively under the scrutiny. His cousin smiled slightly, and went back to trying to get the dirt out from under his fingernails.

Zelgadis was almost disappointed. _Here I am, a distorted version of the cousin he once knew, and he doesn't find that worthy of comment? At least, a good long stare? _Disgruntled, he dropped down onto the small stool and dipped his brush into the bucket, then roughly ground the bar of soap into the stiff bristles and began scrubbing his hated blue stone skin.

He was almost done when he noticed his young cousin giving him a sidelong glance. Oddly enough, this made him feel better. _So…he's learned a bit of discretion after all. He's trying not to hurt my feelings by staring._

His cousin's thoughtfulness made him feel more companionable. He felt his shoulders relax, realizing as he did so that he'd been sitting there all hunched over, his traitorous body language clearly displaying his need for self-protection.

He glanced at the young man sitting next to him, remembering old times, wondering idly if Kerrin had changed much since then. He couldn't see much of his young cousin at the moment, as Kerrin was covered in fluffy white soapsuds, but when the youth got up from his stool and went to douse himself with bathwater, he revealed a trim, lean, tanned body.

He's definitely grown since I left, Zelgadis mused as he watched the youth kneeling at the water's edge, scooping and pouring the water over himself, the muscles in his back and shoulders flexing._ His body…I think mine was like that, once. Small and wiry, without the physical power I craved, although I did have speed and flexibility on my side in a fight. Hm. You can tell he's a swordsman. His arms have decent-sized muscles, and his hands are callused. He's got several battle-scars… I wonder, will he be taller than me when I become human again?_

Zelgadis finished his self-ministrations and went to sit in the marble bath-pool while Kerrin shampooed and rinsed his water-darkened hair, letting the suds drain into the grate in the floor.

With Shiran watching attentively, the stone man submerged himself and swished his head through the water to dislodge whatever dust might have settled on the shining metal strands, glad that he never really needed to wash it.

He surfaced just in time to hear, "Look out, I'm coming in!"

FOOSH! Zelgadis received a wet slap in the face. His stone skin wasn't hurt, but his nose and mouth got swamped. He was seized by a coughing fit, sputtering and snorting as his cousin leaped to his feet in the waist-deep water.

"Hoo!" the youth yelled. "That's _hot!"_

Shiran gave a sort of woof and danced at the water's edge, clearly ready to jump in at a moment's notice.

"Hey!" Zelgadis sputtered indignantly, standing up. "Watch it!"

He smacked the water with an open hand, sending a spray of greenish liquid at his cousin, who dodged it, grinning impishly. "Sorry."

Zelgadis looked at the cheerful face in front of him and suddenly saw another face, much younger, but with the same happy smile, the same laughing bright brown eyes, the same earnest, eager demeanor, and suddenly he felt a burst of jubilant energy take hold of him.

He spoke in a low, deadly tone. "That's not good enough, cousin."

Kerrin's face went from cheerful to startled. Zelgadis gave the younger man a wicked gin, and then shouted dramatically, "Dying Dragon!" and threw himself backward with his arms out to the sides, an old move he'd often used in their water-fights as youngsters.

"No, not that!" Kerrin threw up his arms just as a phenomenal surge of water struck him like a typhoon, almost knocking him off his feet.

Shiran howled as she got caught in the backwash, leaving a big wet slick in the lavender fur on her side.

Zelgadis surfaced in time to watch his cousin doing the ow-hot-hot-hot dance, and grinned. _I guess a stone body even gives me an advantage in the water, as long as it's not too deep. I only feel a pleasant warmth. Then again, Rin's always been more sensitive to hot water than me. Look at how red his skin is already._

"Hey, lobster-boy," he teased, "I thought you'd have grown out of that by now. Do you feel faint? Should I go get a cool cloth to put on your forehead?"

Kerrin's face could not get any redder, but it tried. He had indeed fainted a few times during baths when he was younger, and Zelgadis still liked to tease him about such 'unmanly' behavior.

"Why, you--" The young man used his hands as a scoop and began splashing for all he was worth. The chimera returned the action, and soon nothing could be seen of the two cousins amidst the shining sprays of water flying everywhere.

Shiran leaped and dodged, snapping enthusiastically at any water that happened to come her way, letting out short, high howls of excitement.

Zelgadis had to breathe by straining air and water through his teeth, but he didn't care. He was laughing harder than he had since the time that he and Amelia had chased each other around inside Sunshine's stall on the Woodwind, and enjoying every moment of it.

Eventually, the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat brought their sport to an awkward halt. Andon stood just inside the open door, his mustache twitching as if he wanted to smile, but he merely said, "I apologize for interrupting you, sirs, but you did specify ten minutes only."

"Ah…yes." Zelgadis climbed from the pool, thoroughly embarrassed. "Thank you."

Andon held out a pair of small white towels. Each of the men took one and wrapped it around his own waist. "Now, if you will follow me, gentlemen," Andon said, nodding politely and turning to leave.

Shiran chose that moment to shake vigorously, sending volleys of water from her soaked lavender fur.

Andon did not appear to notice, but Zelgadis winced to see a hundred tiny dark spots appear on the back of the man's impeccable pale gray suit. The stone man turned to look at Kerrin, who pointed at the spots and then covered his mouth with a hand in order not to laugh.

Suddenly Zelgadis grinned back. _What _is_ it about people like Kerrin and Amelia that brings out the child in me? I ought to be mortified to have someone like Andon see me so undignified, but for some reason it doesn't bother me. It was…fun._

As he approached the doorway, he paused, then went to his clothes and rummaged through them. As he stood up, he was holding the Star Sphere that Amelia had given him. For a moment he gazed down at it, cradled in his bare blue palm, then followed Kerrin through the door.

Author's Notes: I'm making the chapters longer now, so it won't be too many more until Only Stone ends. I can't decide if I'll be more happy or sad then…

---Does anyone know what the 'wil' in Amelia's name means? And is 'Tesla' her family name or part of her title?

**---Thank you **to the many _many_ people who suggested red-colored stones! There were so many that I ended up checking out some library books and reading up on gemstones. I was looking for red, but then we had an autumn fair in town, and one of the craft vendors was selling stone jewelry and--my favorite--little carved, polished stone animals. I got a horse carved from sandstone, and a ring with the exact color stone that I always think of as rose-colored--Amelia's color, in my fic. It's a rubellite tourmaline, so that's what I chose to use in my fic. It's not opaque, but close enough. Plus, I like the sound of the name. **Talythia Starseeker **mentioned tourmalines in her wonderfully informative review--and thanks for saying you like peridots--they're one of my birthstones. (I've never liked them. Yellow-green--ugh.) August also has carnelian as a birthstone, which I like better, (my favorite color has always been bright red). Garnets have asterism, hm?…

---I'll be using other stones as well. **Para** mentioned spinel, which I really like from the pictures I've seen, plus I've been really getting into CardCaptor Sakura--season three, the best season, where there's several love confessions, Toya's great sacrifice, and getting to see Li comforting a crying Sakura in his arms. There are two new characters named Ruby and Spinel, and I would never have known that 'spinel' is the name of a stone often mistaken for ruby, so now I'm like "Ruby and Spinel--I get it!" I like being in on the in-jokes.

Kaeru Soyokaze comments: Another brilliant chapter! I have to admit, I'm still blinking whenever Zel or Amelia call each other "dearest" or "darling"...I guess I just got so accustomed to hearing the chimera address her only by her name that it seems strange to me. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually. and I LOVE the Oracle. Where the heck did you come up with a character as cool and color-changey as her? (It?)

---As for Zel and Amelia addressing each other by cutesy names--Amelia is a very dramatic person by nature--in very intimate, emotions-running-high moments I think she'd want to show her feelings for Zelgadis. As for Zel, he's taking his cues from her. She really seems to like it when he calls her by a name that means she's the most important person in his heart. (She'd like it even more if he serenaded her or read her love poems, but this IS Zelgadis, ne? One-word utterances are about all he can manage for now, but he's trying.)

---I got the idea of the Oracle from looking at pictures of the Clare Bible's orb. In my head I hear the voice of the woman from the episode of Hey Arnold who was a fortuneteller, with a sort of Brooklyn accent, and as for the colors--I associate color with emotion, just like a lot of people. It seemed natural to make the Oracle many colors, instead of just one. You can't do that with people.

Ichiban Victory asks: Aye, was there a warning on this chapter? (chapter 82)

---Yup. I rated it RG-15, just in case.

Talythia Starseeker comments: Zel's reaction to that kiss was...interesting. I've never seen the fact that...well, it's basically one of the very few parts of his body where he can still feel full tactile sensations and human senses and all that explored in a fic before.

---I often wonder why no one else seems to have deduced that fact. He must be normal inside--he bleeds, breathes, eats and drinks, and his tongue looks normal to me on screen, so…

an unauthored comment: I don't mean to sound blunt, but I'm a very strong advicate AGAINST using script in any situation. I think you're too creative and original to stoop to such a choppy and rough scene. Judging by how good the rest of this story is, it just isn't something I thought you would do.

---Thank you for the compliments--and your concern. You would be totally justified in your objections if I had used script format in order to avoid the work of writing a fully-fleshed out scene, except that I chose script format mainly because in my flashback scenes, what's actually going on is sort of a verbal shorthand. My characters are sitting there, and one is saying, "…and then she said, '"-------"', and then I said, '"--------"', and then she said, '"------"

---And so on. This is very boring for a reader.

---Now, I use script format in flashbacks because to me it's useful for conveying two things: One--the feeling that you're hearing a retelling of something that's already happened--it's happening faster than normal because it's actually a recap of previous information. (Previously known to at least one of the characters, if not the audience.) Two-- it lets me convey things that I _do _consider important to my readers--tones of voice and the Oracle's color-emotions, for example.

---I understand your objection to using script format--perhaps many people do associate said format as a lazy way to write a story (I can't blame them, considering all of the haphazardly-written fanfics out there)--but in my case, I deliberated carefully before deciding on a script format, for flashback scenes only. Again, thank you-- it's nice to know that there are some people out there with editing skills who care enough to let me know if I botch up.


	84. Chapter 84: Women Always Have To Make a...

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Only Stone on the Outside

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a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG for mild language

****

Chapter Eighty-Four: Women Always Have To Make A Big Deal Out Of Weddings / Stone Beauty

Andon led Zelgadis and Kerrin to another room a few doors down from the bathing room, where he presented each of them with a set of fine clothing, suitable for a groom.Zelgadis' good humor from his first water-fight in years vanished instantly as reality set in again.

He set his pile on a chair and turned his back to the other two, undoing the towel from around his waist to dry himself. _I suppose no one knew who was going to be the groom, so they made outfits for both of us. _

He had to take care to run the towel over his entire body, since he would not feel it if he missed any spots, so Kerrin was dressed before he was. Smartly clad in cobalt blue with white trim, his normally unruly reddish-brown hair now damp and neatly combed, Kerrin watched his older cousin and offered well-meant commentary, which only served to annoy the already cantankerous chimera.

"That shade of light blue looks good on you. It doesn't clash with your skin."

"Those slacks make you look taller. You used to be shorter, didn't you? Hey, when you're human again, I wonder who'll be taller, you or me?"

"With that towel on your head, you look like a pincushion," he chuckled. "Wow, your hair stays the same even if it's wet. You never even have to comb it. Lucky."

With each remark, the chimera's scowl grew deeper. Finally he lost his temper. "Kerrin! Please stop complimenting me!"

"Oh, did I embarrass you? Sorry." The young man took up his towel and knelt by Shiran, blotting at her lavender coat, which was giving out the strong smell of wet dog.

'Embarrassed' is hardly the word. I don't appreciate having someone _point out the differences between my body and a normal human's, even if he didn't mean anything derogatory by it._

Under the watchful eyes of Andon and Kerrin, Zelgadis began to feel his old hatred of being stared at. He fumbled with the pile of clothes, trying to sort them out, flushing redly when Andon suggested that he put on the white shirt _before_ the jacket.

"Why couldn't we have just done this without all the fuss?" he said peevishly. "This is all Amelia's fault. And Lina's. Women! They _always_ have to make such a big deal out of weddings."

The other two men were silent.

If everything goes right, none of these clothes are even going to fit_ the new me, anyway. This is so useless. _ As Zelgadis fought to fasten what seemed like dozens of tiny white buttons, he grumbled, "And after all the worrying over whether we'd make it in time, Amelia's making us _waste_ time like this…"

He finished with the buttons, tucked the shirt into his pale blue slacks and reached for the dark purple vest, which had a simple yet elegant geometric spiral-helix design embroidered in the corners, in shining silver thread.

Kerrin looked up from where he was kneeling next to Shiran, a disapproving frown on his usually cheerful features. "You know, Li," he said quietly, "I've heard that a girl's wedding day is one of the most important days in her life. She spends most of her youth planning it, and the rest of her life remembering it."

The stone man heard the gentle reprimand in his cousin's tone and winced. _He's right. I'm doing it again, ignoring her feelings. What was it Lina said on the roof, about how Amelia looked at Martina's wedding? _His fingers paused over the ornate silver vest buttons._ I remember…she was so joyful, so full of dreams about when it would be her turn… _He sighed, his shoulders drooping._ How can I possibly disappoint her?_

He finished buttoning the dark purple vest over his white shirt and reached for the pale pink strip of silk cloth that was apparently some kind of tie. As he draped it over the back of his neck, he turned to smile ruefully at his cousin. "Then I suppose it's my duty to make sure she remembers this day with happiness."

He watched his cousin's face light up in delight, so like Amelia's, and knew he had made the right choice. He smiled again, this time with a light heart.

Andon helped Zelgadis fasten the billowy tie to the front of his shirt with a small round silver tiepin, and handed him a pair of fine white leather shoes. The last item was the pale blue jacket with dark purple lapels, lined inside with shining white silk.

"You look like a prince." Kerrin beamed at him. "Come here, look!" The young man seized his older cousin by the arm and dragged him toward the full-length mirror in the corner of the room. As they approached it, Kerrin released Zelgadis and reached for the oak-framed mirror, tilting it to eliminate the reflection from the lamp. "There. You see?"

To Zelgadis' surprise, he discovered that the suit did look good on him. The lines of the close-fitting jacket flowed smoothly from his shoulders in to his trim waist, giving the appearance of a man slightly more broad-shouldered than he actually was, yet slender and athletic, well-balanced and graceful

Even his chimeric face did not seem too incongruous with such an outfit. Zelgadis stood taller, turning to the side to study himself, and could not stop a slow, shy smile from growing. _Is that really me? _

Somehow the man in the mirror seemed elegant, refined, even noble, despite his shining wire hair and rock-shadowed eyes. Zelgadis watched the man smile back, his expression one of pleased surprise.

I wonder how they knew my size, anyway? Amelia must have had a hand in this. He remembered how carefully she had chosen clothes for him at the festival in Tollik, and his smile turned affectionate. _And she's right--this color really does complement my coloring. _

"See?" Kerrin grinned at him. "I can't wait to see Miss Amelia's face when she sees you!"

As Zelgadis turned his smile on his young cousin, Andon cleared his throat and said, "The ceremony is being held in the south rose garden. Do either of you know the way?"

It occurred to Zelgadis that he needed to start learning the layout of the palace and its grounds, both by sight and by name.

Kerrin nodded. "Yes, sir."

Andon gave them a cordial, not unfriendly nod, and said, "Then, good sirs, you had best be on your way."

"Thank you, Andon," Zelgadis answered, already heading out the door, only pausing to pick up his Star Sphere from the chair and slip it into his pocket. Kerrin stopped to bow to Andon, then scampered off after his cousin.

Shiran shook herself several times as they went, slipping slightly on the polished stone floors, but Kerrin had managed to partially dry her fur while Zelgadis was dressing, so she only sent off a light spring shower instead of a monsoon. Her lavender fur resumed its usual sleek, silky appearance.

Once outside, they headed around the side of the castle. "I've had tea with Prince Philionel in that garden," Kerrin commented. "It's everybody's favorite. Not only because of the flowers, but because of the artistan."

"The artistan?"

"A famous artistan wanted to gift the royal family because of something they'd done for him, so he came here and created a really beautiful… with stones that…well, you'll see. Come on!" He set off at a jog, with Zelgadis and Shiran following him.

Stones? What does he mean, stones? Zelgadis opened his mouth to ask, then closed it, suddenly weary. _Too much has happened today, on top of the last hellish week we've just been through, _he thought, suddenly wanting to be alone. Even watching his cousin's eager strides made him feel tired, although it was not physical weariness so much as emotional exhaustion that had suddenly struck the chimera. _I will be _very_ glad when this is all over._

He was not too tired to notice that it was a beautiful evening. All around him, the night worked its own special kind of magic, with leaves rustling in the gentle breeze, insects filling the air with a peaceful chorus, and a sky of midnight blue with sparkling diamond stars stretching out into infinity above him. Silver moonlight bestowed a magic ambience on the world, tenderly guiding their steps as Kerrin led the way.

As they rounded a corner, Zelgadis saw a dim yellowish light coming from beyond a wall of dark, thick hedges at the other end of a very large lawn. There was a brighter spot where an opening in the hedge let out a fuzzy rectangle of light. _Finally._

"That's it," Kerrin declared.

Zelgadis merely nodded. As they approached the opening in the hedge, the stone man saw that there were guards posted at regular intervals all along the bushy dark wall. Automatically he tensed, waiting for shouts of "Halt! Who goes there?" to begin, but to his surprise, the men closest to them stiffened respectfully.

"We're here," Kerrin announced, looking first at the two men standing on either side of the opening, and then over his shoulder at Zelgadis. "See what I meant about the stones?"

The chimera glanced down to where his cousin was pointing and saw a path of what looked like big stepping stones in the grass, starting from the opening in the hedge and leading inside. He shrugged, unimpressed.

"No, look closer."

Zelgadis eyed his cousin, but indulged him. They looked like ordinary stepping stones to him, flat and smooth and roughly circular, about eighteen inches each in diameter. They were in varying colors, some dark, some light…

Wait a minute. The stone man took a few steps forward, passing through the opening in the hedge to where it was brighter, staring downward with wide eyes. _These aren't just different _colors, _they're different _types_ of stone. That striped green stone is malachite. There's garnet…and blue sodalite, like that figurine Amelia bought in Tollik. They're all made from _gemstones!

He continued walking forward, not noticing his surroundings or the fact that it was getting easier to see, following the curving path with a mild sense of wonder._ Some of these are worth a lot of money. I can't believe they leave such valuable things literally lying around for anyone to steal._

His white shoes slowly passed over large disks of sparkling mint-green adventurine, golden-and-brown striped tigereye, which looked so much like highly-polished wood, soft pearly-peach moonstone, purple amethyst, warm rust-red jasper, and crystalized yellow alabaster, which always reminded Zelgadis of the inside of a lemon.

Then again, this is_ Seyrune. Either there aren't many criminal types here, or those who _have _been tempted have been caught and punished. By Amelia's hammer of justice, perhaps. _He smirked. _Actually, this would be a good way to test someone's integrity. _

He admired the vivid red-orange carnelian, which looked like a little pool of rippling fiery-hot lava, the delicate green-and-purple crystal fluorite, the cheerful light-pink rose quartz, and last, the brilliant ruby-red spinel, gleaming lustrously among the emerald grass.

"So you like our stepping stones, do you?" came a familiar booming voice from just in front of him.

Zelgadis jerked his head up to see that he had followed the winding path of stones all the way to the center of the hedge-enclosed area. Although darkness pressed in from all sides, it was admirably held off by a ring of white pillar-candles, which had been placed around the edges of the large, circular patio in the center of the garden.

Prince Philionel stood between two of the candles, looming over the chimera with a big grin on his face. Zelgadis instinctively stepped back, and nearly stumbled as the surface under his new shoes changed from hard, smooth stone to soft, spongy grass. The chimera glanced quickly around the garden, looking for Amelia, but saw only Gourry, Xellos, and a meek-looking dark-haired man wearing a white priest's robe.

Gourry wore a deep bluish-purple suit with a pale blue vest and lapels, which contrasted nicely with his long blond hair--and complimented Zelgadis' own attire.

Gourry greeted him. "Hey, Zel, looking good."

Shiran gave the mazoku a token growl.

"What do you think of the rest of it?" Prince Phil asked.

Zelgadis ignored the question. "Where's Amelia?"

"Oh, she's not ready yet. You know how women are." Prince Phil was still beaming, showing big white teeth under his bushy black mustache. "She wants to look perfect for her wedding."

Zelgadis fumed. "I can't believe this." _What is she _doing? _Do I have to go and _drag_ her here? After all we've been through to get this far, she'd _better_ not be getting cold feet _now!

For all his apparent obliviousness, Prince Phil reacted instantly to the stone man's ire. "Now, now, no need to worry. She'll be here any minute now."

"She'd better be!" he snapped. _I'll give her five more minutes, and then I'm going after her. _

"We have time--see?" Prince Phil pointed up, over the top of the tall hedge, toward the palace roof. Silver moonlight illuminated the clock tower. It was just before eleven-thirty.

"We've only got half an hour." Zelgadis glared up at the big man, his face grim. "Are you _sure_ that's enough time?"

"I trust my daughter." Prince Phil crossed brawny arms over his burly chest, looking as confident as ever, and cocked a bushy black eyebrow. "Don't you?"

Zelgadis sweatdropped. "Uh…of course I do." _After I made such a big deal about trusting her, what else can I say? I just hope Amelia knows what she's doing!_

"By the way, this is Head Priest Jarron," Prince Phil continued genially. "He'll be performing the ceremony--the _other_ ceremony, I mean." He chuckled raucously at his own joke.

Zelgadis gave the unassuming man a cordial nod, but did not bother to speak.

An awkward silence followed. Even Xellos seemed to be taking this seriously, as no wisecracks were forthcoming.

"So…how do you like the mosaic?" came a soft voice.

"The what?" Zelgadis turned to see Kerrin standing quietly beside him, nodding his head toward the patio. The chimera glanced down at the surface under Prince Phil's formal gray boots, and blinked.

The object which he had taken for a patio was actually a work of art. As Prince Phil obligingly stepped down off of it, Zelgadis could see that someone had taken the time and effort to cut, shape and polish more of the valuable gemstones in order to create a gorgeous depiction of a flower garden.

"We use it for ceremonies," Prince Phil added, but Zelgadis barely heard him, utterly engrossed by the splendor in front of him.

The circle of thick white candles, set on the outer ring of the mosaic, provided considerable light. The base itself was a great circular disk of polished white marble, about four inches thick, inlaid with beautiful flowers of all kinds, from pastel amethyst lilacs to deep-purple amethyst orchids.

There were vibrant magenta garnet azaleas, delicate morning glories of rose quartz, peach moonstone, and white marble, and tiny citrine buttercups. Twirled through curving sprays of pale blue tourmaline delphiniums were vivid tulips of red spinel, orange carnelian, and yellow alabaster. Gorgeous roses of every shade of red, pink, peach, yellow and white flourished, and everything was intertwined with flowing vines of bright grass-green malachite with apple-green chrysoprase leaves.

In the center of the mosaic, a great tourmaline rose bloomed.

__

There's something familiar about that color… Zelgadis blinked. _That's the same as the rose-colored light I keep seeing in dreams, the one that represents Amelia! And here… _He found himself gazing down at a graceful arch of pale lavender-blue bellflowers--almost the exact color of his own wire hair. _That could almost be me. _As he studied the bellflowers, he decided that he liked their neat, orderly, non-frilly appearance.

Somehow he had come to associate certain colors with certain people--vaguely, he remembered a conversation with Amelia, who had described her color-oriented direction spell--and he could almost imagine seeing other people he knew, represented by certain flowers. _Prince Phil--that big, bold purple iris--the king of flowers. That pair of cheerful yellow daffodils--Gourry and Kerrin, of course. And Lina--a tiger lily. How appropriate._

Zelgadis walked around the marble perimeter, awed. The entire mosaic was nearly fifteen feet across; a wonderfully vibrant portrayal of life. "It's…magnificent," he murmured.

Kerrin beamed. "I knew you'd like it. Everyone does. Prince Philionel says it took the artisan six whole months to finish it."

Zelgadis looked at Prince Phil, who nodded, smiling broadly. "Amelia was visiting his family's mine when there was a cave-in. She saved his little sister's life, and he was so grateful that he insisted on gifting us with this beautiful mosaic."

"It is…truly breathtaking." Zelgadis became conscious of the irony between the beauty of the stone mosaic and his own distasteful blue skin, which was a constant reminder of his cursed nature.

"Amelia has developed a special affinity for things made of stone in the last few years," Prince Phil commented. "Care to guess why?"

Zelgadis glanced up at the big man, who was grinning at him, and then down again as a pink flush appeared over his nose. He held a blue hand up in front of his face, turning it slowly, suddenly conscious of how Amelia might see him--as a creation of a master artisan.

Rezo was no artist, but the man was_ a master mage. I haven't thought about it in years, but I _could_ have turned out much worse, a hideous twisted blob of flesh and stone, like some of his other creations… _ He shuddered. _I suppose I should be glad I can pass for a statue. Some statues are actually quite beautiful…_

He startled himself with that thought, but then forgot it as he noticed something--a small flower near the center of the mosaic. _Well, what do you know? Shiran's namesake--a lavender orchid. I'll have to point that out to Amelia--_

His pointed ears twitched, catching the sounds of people hurrying through grass. "Finally!" he said aloud, turning to face the opening in the hedge. Everyone else followed his lead. 

"Well, it's about ti--"

He froze, his mouth open.

Before him was a shining angel, an exquisite, eminently loveable angel whose softly glimmering sapphire eyes gazed at him with such adoration that he could indeed have been a statue, so incapable of movement was he.

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Author's Notes: Gomen for the long hiatus, but this is my vacation week, so look for new chapters in the coming weeks! There should only be another four or so to go…

Thanks for all the suggestions on different types of stone--I ended up doing research on both them and on all kinds of flowers, to see which kinds of stone would best suit which kinds of flowers. I wanted to have tons of flowers, so I used as many types of stone as I could.

I didn't want to get too technical with the stone-colors for the flowers--blue tourmaline is called indicolite, for example, which sounds like a carbonated soft drink to me. And red or pink tourmalines are called rubellites.

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Kaeru Soyokaze asks: I love the touch with Xelloss and the earmuffs. Speaking of which...what is your personal opinion on him? I'm not really sure what to think about that guy...

I thought Xellos was hilarious in the first and second seasons, but when he showed his cruel side in season three I felt betrayed. I'd thought he was like the stereotypical trickster character, a 'Loki', but then he went from 'mischievous' to 'callus', at least in my perception. So I had a good long think about him, and my conclusions are what made up chapter 79's conversation between Amelia and Xellos. Basically, Xellos just doesn't _think_ the same way a human does. He feels no need to preserve lives, unlike humans, who seem to be born with that common instinct. I wonder how mazoku reproduce? If there are no baby mazoku, then there would be no need for the gentler emotions at all, would there? But it would be easier to believe in cold, alien thought processes if he didn't _look_ so very human, wouldn't it? 

Miaka Kiri comments: PL, Nashua's largest mall, has a LOT of kiosks, and I work at the one that sells calanders during the holidays… What's carnelian?

You mean the Pheasant Lane Mall? I've been there. And carnelian is a semi-precious stone of an orangey color, sometimes more yellowish, sometimes more reddish. Some opaque, some clear enough to let light through. I have a clear red-orange tumbled-stone with little ripples in it--very bright and firey.


	85. Chapter 85: Soul Music

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Only Stone on the Outside

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a Slayers fanfic

****

by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

****

PG for mild language

Note: This is a re-post of chapter 85 because ff net messed up parts of my last one.

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Chapter Eighty-Five: Soul Music

"Well, it's about ti-"

Zelgadis froze, his mouth open.

Before him, outlined in the flickering golden candlelight, was a shining angel. An exquisite, eminently loveable angel whose softly glimmering sapphire eyes gazed at him with such adoration that he could indeed have been a statue, so incapable of movement was he.

No masses of gaudy, glitzy jewels or glass beads adorned the Seyrune princess. She wore a long, simple, sweeping gown that left her shoulders bare, trimmed with small bouquets of white roses at her waist and bosom. The gown was made of shining white chiffon with a subtle rose-colored tint that shimmered here and there, only to vanish and then appear somewhere else. The color contrasted beautifully with her dark hair and tanned skin. _That color…_he thought in awe._ Just like in my dream…how did she know?_

Elegant white gloves reached almost to her shoulders, and her lustrous mane of raven hair was held in place by a delicate golden tiara, set with rosy tourmalines and a beautiful big sapphire that just matched her eyes. She wore matching earrings and a golden necklace on which her Star Sphere hung, directly over her heart.

Most beautiful of all to him were her eyes, sparkling blue pools of such radiant joy that his sense of urgency vanished; he could have gazed at her forever.

Amelia stood in the entry space between the garden hedges, radiating soft, wondering beauty as she noticed the effect her appearance had on Zelgadis. She, too, was awed. Slender, graceful and perfect, in a suit of palest blue trimmed with deep purple, her chimera stood motionless, his teal-blue eyes wide and shimmering, openly letting everyone see just how much he loved her.

He's every bit as handsome as I knew he would be… The night sky glittered like diamonds, but even those vivid pinpoints of brilliance could not equal the lovelight shining in the eyes of the young girl. _Oh, Zelgadis…_

They might have gone on staring all night if not for Xellos, who cleared his throat meaningfully. They broke eye contact, both blushing deeply.

Amelia took a few steps forward. "Um…sorry I'm late…"

The feeling of urgency returned, but Zelgadis could not bring himself to be annoyed with her. He swallowed, and managed to get his mouth working again. "…It's all right. It was worth it."

She gave him a lovely smile, making him feel rather weak in the knees, then turned to her father. "Is everything ready?"

Prince Phil nodded, his eyes suspiciously wet at the corners. "Of course, my dear." He raised his voice. "Everyone, take your positions!"

Zelgadis found himself herded into the center of the gemstone mosaic to stand upon the magnificent tourmaline rose. Amelia, Lina and Xellos formed a triangle around him, with Gourry, Kerrin, Shiran, and the priest waiting on the grass nearby.

For the first time he noticed Lina, who had been behind Amelia when the two girls arrived. The firey sorceress was wearing the most feminine outfit he had ever seen her in, a beautiful pale pink gown made of some kind of light, filmy material. Her dainty short sleeves danced in the gentle breeze, and she wore small white gloves trimmed with lace. Her bright hair lay in a luxurious mass of curls over one shoulder, tied with a wide white satin ribbon.

She saw him looking and gave him a scowl. "What?"

He realized that she must be feeling even more self-conscious than he was, and gave her a reassuring smile. "Nothing. You look very nice."

His smile deepened at the sight of the fearsome Lina Inverse blushing like a cute young girl for once. She looked surprised, as if she had expected him to make some kind of crude comment about her chest size. _Not that there's anything really wrong with her figure, unless you're comparing her to other women, which isn't fair. _He suppressed the urge to smirk._ I haven't heard Gourry make any complaints lately…_

Zelgadis' expression went serious as Prince Philionel approached Amelia, reached into his formal purple robe and pulled out the Oracle's golden orb. Amelia took it with both hands, handling it as tenderly as a newborn child, her gaze suddenly uncertain. Her father placed a gentle hand on her cheek, nodded encouragingly, and backed up to step off of the mosaic onto the grass beside the others.

Amelia smiled bravely, and straightened her shoulders. "All right, everyone…let's do this."

A pair of gaudy purple earmuffs appeared in Xellos' hands. He quickly put them on. Zelgadis smirked, remembering the mazoku's greatest weakness. _That makes me feel a little better-if I have to ask for Xellos' help, at least he's going to suffer, too._

Amelia turned to the stone man. "Zelgadis, you stay right there, okay?" She sounded as if she were talking to a child.

His increasing nervousness was triggering his sarcastic nature. _No, I'm going to go traipsing off somewhere, _he almost said,but then he looked at her worried face, and knew that it was _he_ for whom she was most concerned.

Zelgadis gathered control of himself and gave his princess a deliberately gentle smile, nodding with a soft sound of affirmation. "You can do it, Amelia." His quiet voice held no trepidation, only utter confidence, and she rewarded him for his trust with a big, warm smile that melted his heart. _I hope I get to see that smile every day from now on…_

Xellos turned to him. "The purpose of this incantation is to try to remove as much of Lord Rezo's chimera-spell as possible. If things go as planned, Zelgadis, you should be fully human again, or, at worst, nearly indistinguishable from one."

Zelgadis nodded slightly, his expression inscrutable. _I know that. I also know something you don't-that we're going to try the Oracle's 'mothball' suggestion. If everything goes as planned, you'll find me a more formidable opponent than you expect the next time we have to do battle._

"First, the music. It will help to provide us with an opening." Xellos was using his 'schoolteacher' tone. "The seal to Lord Rezo's curse is like a shell of ceramic, or glass. Any ordinary white magic purification spell will simply run off the surface like water, without leaving so much as a mark behind. The Oracle's music will provide us with the chance to get through that barrier, not unlike the way a glass can develop cracks, or even shatter, if it is exposed to the right frequency."

The mazoku looked thoughtful. "Not that we expect _Zelgadis_ to shatter…I don't _think_ so, anyway…"

Half of the group looked horrified, and the other half glared at Xellos. Zelgadis clenched his teeth. _Quit baiting us._

"So when the curse begins to rend-a process that will, in all likelihood, involve _excruciating_ pain on Zelgadis' part-" The mazoku had the apologetic expression that he often wore when he was secretly delighted at someone's misfortune.

Lina scowled at the apparent man. "Get on with it!"

"-_That_ will be our cue to begin. My part in this spell is to provide the framework, the shape-changing aspect, and the black magic energy that is needed."

As attention-grabbing as usual, Lina put in, "And _my_ part is to bring the shamanistic forces into play. Xellos and I will both be using our influence to call away as much of the black and shamanistic magic as possible from the human parts of you."

Yes, yes, get on with it already!

"And _I_ will be the focus," Amelia said softly, but firmly.

Zelgadis felt a twinge of fear, but his solemn expression did not change, except for the merest flickering in his eyes.

"Yes," Xellos agreed. "Think of us as the raw energy, and Miss Amelia is the lens, focusing it to pinpoint the human qualities in Zelgadis, strengthening them, calling them to the fore while at the same time trying to separate out the other elements."

"And his soul. His human soul," Amelia interrupted.

"Yes. Miss Amelia will, in essence, have the most challenging task of all," Xellos' voice deepened dramatically, "delving deeply into his mind, searching for his very essence, for the human soul that _is_ Zelgadis Greywyrs."

What? Zelgadis was startled.

Amelia seemed to sense his distress. "Don't worry, Zelgadis," she said softly, smiling at him. "The Star Spheres will help me. We're connected, right? I know I've felt the touch of your mind more than once…"

She watched as the tall stone man subsided, and gave her the small, sweet smile that he reserved for her alone. _Oh, Zelgadis…I hope I can find you, the real you, the man you used to be before the_ _curse took away your hope, your trust in people…your innocence, I guess. I want to try to help you, to give back some of the sweet, gentle nature that I sense deep within you… I wonder, were you like Kerrin, once? Able to smile so easily…to be happy… Can you ever be again?_

She let her gaze rest upon him for just a few more moments, admiring his beautiful, slightly-exotic elfin form. _This may be the last time I get to see the chimera-you…the man I fell in love with. I'll miss you…I just hope I get the chance to love your new self. _

It was time. The air had gone still and silent, without even a whisper of wind. Amelia closed her eyes and concentrated, holding the small, softly glowing golden orb in both hands. The light grew stronger, and then suddenly spread out, filling the area inside the hedges with near-daylight brilliance.

A soft tone was heard, then another, gradually building into a melody. The music was lovely, delicate yet strong, sounding like a exquisite merging of bell and harp, but with a warmer, fuller resonance that touched the soul deeply. Everyone there, even Xellos, was caught up in the shimmering, stirring sensation, the feeling that all wishes were possible; that anything could happen next.

Amelia took a deep breath and began to sing.

The Words Amelia sang were in an ancient tongue unknown to any of them except Xellos. They were words of calling, words of change, of transformation, of seeking the true self which had become lost amidst the chaos. The Words had not been meant for human use, but High Priest Xellos had taken that into account when he and Amelia were modifying the basic spell, suggesting that Zelgadis' soul would be most likely to respond to a plea made from that inexplicable human emotion: love.

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Hide no more, _be _Zelgadis, _my one true love, my soul mate. Use my love for strength, for guidance… Seek me… I am waiting with open arms._

Like a flower opening in the morning sun's first kiss, slowly Zelgadis began to respond, his face turned upward, his eyes closed, letting the music flow over him, into him, through him, feeling the energy gathering, waiting for whatever he asked of it.

For the briefest instant his mind flashed back to the day Rezo cursed him. His greatest desire had always been to be strong-or had it? What had been running through his mind at the exact moment the spell struck him? _'To be strong is to be safe. No one will ever be able to touch me again._ _No one will ever be able to _hurt_ me again!'_

His eyes flew open in shock, staring at nothing. _Did Rezo curse me-or did I curse myself? Was my desire to keep people at arm's length so strong that it manifested itself in this skin of stone? _Suddenly it was as if the world had receded, with all the color and sound muted, as numb as his own mind. He could see Amelia singing, but heard barely a murmur. _Did Rezo choose this form-or did I?_

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Where are you? Still singing, Amelia tried to sense him, to reach into the man in front of her and touch those parts of him that she had felt before during times of danger. _Your soul…the part of you who makes you the man I love. Zelgadis, my beloved, come be with me…_

As he stood there, frozen in a morass of horror, the tenor of the music altered, growing stronger. Amelia's high, sweet tones threaded through it, pulling at him, and his awareness was suddenly shifted to her, to this wonderful, earnest girl-woman who had not let his appearance or his gruff manner scare her off. She had stayed faithfully by his side, had seen him at his worst, and still she had chosen him, admired him, loved him. _There she is, singing her heart out, offering herself to me…_

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I hope this is working. Amelia thought in between carefully-pronounced phrases, feeling the beginnings of a sore throat already. _ I want him to be whole again…where it counts. His soul…has so many scars… There must have been a time when he was happy…young and confident and sure that he could do anything… Please, Zelgadis, _remember!

Again the music changed-no, more than that, it _transmuted, _expanding into an incredible cornucopia of sensory wonder. Tantalizing scents, rich with memories, seemed to waft past wondering noses. Glorious ripples of opalescent light came from the golden orb, ripples that matched the musical notes exactly, seeming to pulse with gentle life as they expanded in a marvelously intricate pattern that reminded Zelgadis of how it had felt to be underwater but unafraid. _When the Star Sphere Amelia had given me saved my life, during that battle with the sea-dragon… I could sense her loving presence even then, although I didn't let myself realize it for a long time. When she was with me, I forgot to be afraid._

Then the ripples passed through him, and he stood enthralled as sensations he had not experienced in years suddenly came alive. _Oh…this feeling… _The light-ripples passed through his stone skin as if it didn't exist, and the chimera was lost in the ecstasy of being able to _feel, _to feel with his body, in the way most people took for granted. It awoke memories of his babyhood, of the way his mother had felt soft and warm as she held him close, singing gentle lullabies and smelling of lavender. 

All of them were thus affected as the light-ripples passed through them, stroking, caressing, enlivening, bringing memories of love and life. Amelia felt again Zelgadis' gentle hands as he brushed her hair. Lina and Gourry were reminded of their own growing intimacy, and the watchers' eyes had all glazed over with pleasure.

Even Xellos felt it, although the images he received were alien to him-those of feeling safe and cared for-and for the first time he began to understand why a feeling such as 'love' could make one _feel_ safe, despite the myriads of dangers humans faced to whom 'love' meant nothing. _It does have a strange sort of appeal… _He shrugged._ Not that I'd find much use for it in my line of work, but I suppose it _does_ have value…if only to make humans more amusing._

Xellos and Lina had no Words to sing. They were, in effect, filters, drawing away the non-human elements from the stone man the way a magnet gathered tiny particles of iron. Each of them could feel the alien elements coalescing into a growing mass, and began preparing themselves to cast it out of the human-shaped form who stood before them, a black silhouette surrounded by brilliant golden light.

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Soon. Amelia thought. _It's almost time to do that last, special detail, the one we didn't tell Mister Xellos about…_

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I want to be human again. Zelgadis opened his eyes and gazed at the princess-angel in front of him. She was surrounded by delicate light-strands weaving through the air like ribbons, in shining pastel colors, holding the golden orb cupped in her hands, singing to him with a look of adoration in her beautiful sapphire eyes._ For all its frailties, for all its vulnerabilities, I was born human…and it's who I really am._

Intense desire was etched into every line of his stone face as he filled his lungs and threw his arms out wide, trusting himself to the power surrounding him, and to Amelia. _"I want to be human!"_

An enormous swirling ball of opalescent energy appeared around him, engulfing him. Blinded, Zelgadis could feel his stone skin breaking up, peeling, cracking, coming apart, and pushed back a twinge of fear. _Even if I die, I choose to embrace life, not run from it!_

It felt as if he were wrapped in live electricity, crackling and sizzling, every nerve ablaze. His very bones buzzed and itched as if he were possessed by a thousand insects. He was shrinking, his hair softening; the layer of stone that had protected him for so long was melting, dissolving into his skin. As every human does at birth, Zelgadis Greywyrs opened his mouthin a primal roar of pain and triumph.

"What the hell?" Lina suddenly yelled, as she and Xellos both felt the shimmering mass of demon-golem particles being sucked from their grasp. "No!" she howled. Like water through a sieve, their mental fingers could not grasp the alien particles which coalesced inside the man who stood before them, rapidly contracting, solidifying, and separating into two pinpoints of white light that moved upward through his body. When they reached the sides of his head, they stopped, and as the light surrounding Zelgadis faded, everyone stared at the human man who stood before them-human, but for two slightly pointed ears.

For a long moment, no one moved. Most of the candles had gone out, leaving them in the silver-gray hues of moonlight. Zelgadis was breathing heavily, trying to cope with a sudden sensory overload as his long-unused skin reacted wildly, sending urgent, tingling messages to his brain. _Is this pain?_

He held up his hands, turning them over to gaze almost numbly at the tender pinkish-peach skin. The tight jacket pressed into the insides of his elbows, causing an unpleasant sensation, so he dropped his hands and shifted his weight from one foot to another, trying to ignore the strange way his shoes made his feet feel as if they were still encased in stone. _Why do I…feel so weak?_

"Zelgadis?" Amelia took a hesitant step toward him, her face pale. "Is…is that you?"

"Li! You're back!" came Kerrin's joyful shout.

Zelgadis and Amelia stared at one another, slowly embracing the realization that their ordeal was over. Zelgadis was human.

"Zelgadis…" Amelia took a hesitant step forward, then another, and Zelgadis opened his arms to her, ready and willing to endure any kind of pain if it meant finally being able to hold her in his arms-his real arms-but then she stumbled, and his human reflexes weren't fast enough to catch her. She fell heavily to her knees on the gemstone mosaic, letting out a muffled cry of pain.

"Amelia! What's wrong?" he cried, suddenly terrified that she was about to die right in front of him. He staggered forward, only then realizing that he was having a hard time staying on his feet.

"Zelgadis?"

Lina had him by the elbow, sending zinging sensations all the way up his arm, but he ignored them and said, "Don't worry about me-help Amelia!"

"I'm all right," Amelia whispered, wincing from the pain of bruised knees, but unable to bear hearing the note of panic in Zelgadis' voice. "I'm just-tired."

Her father helped her to stand. "It's no wonder-you were singing for such a long time. I was afraid it wasn't working."

"A long time?" The young girl realized that her throat was sore and aching. Her eyes widened and she twisted to look at the clock tower. "Oh no! It's five minutes to midnight!" she squeaked hoarsely.

"What?" Zelgadis gave the clock a horrified glance, then met Lina's gaze.

"I didn't notice it either," she said grimly. "Hey, you! Head priest or whoever you are, hurry up and do your job!"

"Yes, miss!" The short, meek-looking man in white robes jumped, then scurried toward the mosaic. Lina and Prince Philionel backed away, and Zelgadis and Amelia were left standing together in front of Head Priest Jarron, who pulled out a book from the sleeve of his robe and began reading the marriage rites in a high-pitched, rapid voice.

Zelgadis was feeling incredibly weak, holding himself together by sheer willpower. Amelia was swaying slightly, her face almost as pale as the time she had nearly died at the inn. He reached out and took her hand, wondering if he would ever get used to feeling things so strongly again, or if all of his physical sensations were going to be as raucous as pain from now on.

The priest asked some questions, but Zelgadis wasn't sure what he said in response. He dimly heard Lina snapping at the man to hurry up, and Jarron's voice sped up even more, sounding like pure gibberish to his ears.

Amelia clung to the warm, flesh-and-blood hand of the man who stood beside her, listening to Priest Jarron recite the familiar words of the wedding ritual, almost overcome with happiness. _It's finally happening. I'm really here. I've dreamed of this moment for so long…_

Her eyes kept wanting to close. _No-I can't sleep. Not yet… _She turned her head to look up at Zelgadis, this new Zelgadis who looked so different, and yet so familiar. _He does remind me of Kerrin-but that solemn expression-that's definitely my Zelgadis. _She could not get enough of looking at him, her eyes tracing every line of his face, mentally comparing it to his chimera features._ He looks younger than he used to…and his hair is darker, but I can't quite tell what color it is. He looks so handsome in the moonlight, though…_

"…Symbol-of-your-eternal-faithfulness?"

"What?" Zelgadis took a deep breath, feeling the cool night air wake him up slightly.

"Have you a symbol of your eternal faithfulness to her?" the priest repeated, a bit more slowly. "Most people use some kind of jewelry, but it can be anything that has a special meaning for both of you."

Zelgadis glanced down at Amelia, who was looking up at him with wide, shimmering eyes. He stood immobile for moment, captivated by her moonlit beauty, but then Lina loudly cleared her throat and he started. His eyes caught on Amelia's Star Sphere, which she had hung around her neck on a golden chain.

"A symbol-yes." His left hand slid into his jacket pocket, fumbling for a moment before withdrawing the comfortingly smooth, slightly warm Star Sphere. It still had her old pink cloth band attached to it.

"Excellent," the priest said, taking it from him and slipping the pink band over the former chimera's left wrist. He continued rapidly, "And Miss Amelia, I see you have yours already, so without further ado I proclaim you, Zelgadis Greywyrs elt Seyrune, and you, Amelia wil Tesla Seyrune, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

"Finally!" Lina's tone was an odd combination of exasperation and triumph.

Zelgadis released Amelia's hand and turned so that he was facing her. She gazed up at him, her eyes shining in the silver moonlight, warm, inviting eyes that spoke far more eloquently than words. He smiled slowly, and reached out to put his hands on her bare shoulders, feeling electricity tingle where their skin touched. He leaned down to her, noting in the back of his mind that the distance between their faces had lessened somewhat, and tilted his head slightly, slowly pressing his lips to hers.

This time the tingling went all the way down to his toes, making him feel weak in the knees, but he didn't want to stop. _This glorious, wondrous feeling…_ Her arms came up around his waist, and she was soft and warm and he could feel her breathing…

Amelia responded to the feel of his lips on hers, momentarily surprised that they were soft and warm instead of the smooth, cool stone lips she had kissed-was it just a few hours ago? Instinctively, she reached up and slid her arms around him, holding him close to her. She forgot her pain and exhaustion, the stress from months of anxiety dissolving as she focused on the feel of his warm, strong, flesh-and-blood body breathing against hers, on his lips, pressing gently against hers.

A surge of love welled up inside her and she squeezed Zelgadis tightly to her, kissing him enthusiastically, just as the tower clock began to bong.

"Just in time!" Gourry laughed, and everyone but Xellos broke into applause.

Zelgadis and Amelia pulled back slightly, staring first into each others' eyes, reading identical expressions of wonder, and then they both blushed as a roguish whistle was heard, courtesy of Lina.

As they looked shyly at their friends, Amelia felt the urge to put her hands to her cheeks to hide her embarrassment, but she didn't want to let go of Zelgadis for even a moment. She turned to look up at him instead. _I'm so happy… so relieved… _She took a deep breath, feeling herself relax bit by bit, and noticed something. _Zelgadis smells different…not a stone-smell anymore, a manly-smell…I think I like it…_

Zelgadis smiled down at the girl in his arms. She smiled back, her eyes bright with love-and then she faltered. The light in her eyes dimmed, and she sagged against him. "Amelia!" he cried out, horrified.

He tried to brace himself, but his human legs lacked the strength of his chimera ones, and they dropped together onto the stone mosaic. He managed to twist to land on his back, cradling her to his chest, and dimly heard his friends calling out his name, but the shock of the sudden burst of pain was enough to send him over the edge. _Help Amelia, _he tried to say as he faded out, _help her!_

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Alarmed, Lina dropped to her knees next to her fallen friends, her long skirt swishing across the gemstone mosaic. "Amelia? Zel?"

"Amelia!" Prince Phil shouted. Shiran leaped beside her bonded ones, nosing first Amelia, then Zelgadis, whining in distress.

Gourry knelt next to Lina, reaching out to lift Amelia off of Zelgadis. He cradled her head in the crook of his arm, looking down worriedly into her face. "Amelia? Can you hear me?" When she did not answer, he looked at his fiance. "Lina, what's wrong with them?"

"Are they all right?" Kerrin stood at the edge of the mosaic with Prince Phil and Priest Jarron, all of them wearing matching concerned expressions.

"I believe the strain finally caught up to them," Xellos said, frowning slightly. "That last-minute modification really took a lot out of them."

"The what?" Lina glared up at the apparent man from where she was leaning over the newly-human Zelgadis, her hands glowing whitely over his chest as she prepared to cast a healing spell. "You mean when the black and shamanistic parts that we were trying to get rid of suddenly got away from us?"

Xellos explained, "They're not hurt. For some reason, both of them seemed to have worked together to take the demon and golem components from Zelgadis' chimera form and…compacted them somehow." Xellos sounded slightly sulky, for some reason, but more surprised, and also-rare for him-genuinely impressed. "You notice how his ears still resemble his chimera ones, only smaller, and normal flesh-colored? That's where the other components went."

"What the hell would he want to do that for?" Lina snarled, caught between astonishment and fury. She let the healing spell fade, and Gourry took his cue from her and gently lay Amelia down on the mosaic next to Zelgadis. Shiran immediately stood over them, sniffing the newly-human Zelgadis carefully, paying special attention to his ears.

That's gotta tickle, Lina thought.

"We'll have to wait until they wake up to find out for certain, but I conjecture that Zelgadis must have realized just how much power he was giving up, and decided to perform an act that would ensure that he had access to that power, if he should ever need it. Quite clever, actually," Xellos looked grudgingly admiring. "It's something I might have done."

"I thought Zelgadis couldn't help cast this spell." Gourry wore his familiar bewildered expression.

"Not normally, no," Xellos agreed. "A chimera cannot use magic to go back to the way he was originally, but you see, Zelgadis still _is_ a chimera."

"He _is?" _at least three people asked at once, as everyone stared down at the normal-looking young man lying on the flower mosaic. Shiran was alternately licking his and Amelia's faces and letting out a quiet sort of whine every few moments.

Xellos nodded. "The other components are still a part of him. However…" His expression became thoughtful. "I can barely sense them. They seem to have been put into a dormant state, a sort of hibernation, if you will."

"What if they wake up?" Gourry asked.

"If that happens, Zelgadis will transform back into his chimeric form," Xellos said, as if it was obvious.

"He took a damn foolish risk, though. What if their spell hadn't worked?" Lina grumbled. _I thought he was so worried about Amelia, too, and now look at her. _She glared down at the young-seeming man who lay before her and then realized that, even unconscious, his expression was troubled. Her shoulders relaxed. _But…I guess I can see his point. He said he wanted to be able to protect Amelia-as a chimera bodyguard, even, if he couldn't marry her. _She sighed._ I just hope they know what they're doing. _

"Are they going to be all right?" Kerrin said in a hushed tone, coming forward to lean over his cousin.

Lina looked up at him and realized that in their current positions, the young man could see right down the front of her new dress-the one that Amelia had secretly ordered made for her. She restrained her impulse to punch him, and scrambled to her feet. "They're just worn out, Kerrin. They'll be fine after a good night's rest."

As if on cue, Amelia murmured, "Stop it, Shirry…" and made a brushing motion at her cheek. Shiran backed off slightly, and woofed once, in a commanding tone that clearly said, _Wake up._

Slowly the princess' eyes opened.

"Amelia, you're all right!" Prince Phil snatched her up and held her to his chest.

She sat there for a moment, a bemused expression on her face, and then she started. "Zelgadis!"

"He's right here; he's all right," her father reassured her.

The young princess looked down over her father's muscular arm at the man lying quietly beside her. Again she seemed to become mesmerized by his face, gazing down at him motionlessly, her eyes shimmering.

"How do you feel?" Lina asked.

Amelia blinked, tearing her eyes away from her husband. _My _husband. _It worked…it's all over. _For a moment tears threatened, tears of joy and relief, but she blinked them back and turned to look up at her friend. "I'm all right," she breathed, only then realizing that her voice was practically gone. "Um…my knees are a little sore, maybe."

Lina gave her a surprised look, then chuckled and knelt down next to her, tucking the skirt of her pink dress underneath her. "Well, I can fix _that, _anyway."

Prince Phil released his daughter as Lina held glowing white hands over Amelia's knees. The vague throbbing went away, and then her throat started to feel better as Lina moved her hands up to cover her neck. She began to feel a little more alert, although she was definitely looking forward to going to bed as soon as possible.

"What about Zelgadis?" she asked as soon as Lina finished. "Is he all right?"

"Yeah." Lina took a deep breath and suddenly yelled, "What were you two _thinking_ of? Do you know how dangerous that stunt you pulled was? You scared the crap out of us!"

Amelia cringed away from the pink-frocked sorceress, expecting to be put in a headlock at any moment. "I'm sorry…I didn't know it would drain us like this. The Oracle suggested-"

"The Oracle, eh?" Xellos nodded. "That would explain it. I didn't think Zelgadis had the initiative to come up with such an idea."

"Hey!" Amelia scowled at this insult. Shiran growled fiercely, her lavender mane bristling.

Xellos waved a conciliatory hand. "Sorry…I just meant that he tends to err on the side of caution."

"Oh." Amelia was quiet for a moment, but then she turned to look up at Lina, her hands clenched into fists under her chin. "But Miss Lina, I just _had_ to try it! It was really _important_ to Zelgadis. He wants to be able to protect me-and all of us-from Dark Lords and mazoku-no offense, Mister Xellos-and-and court intrigue…everything. _That's_ why he was actually willing to stay partially cursed! I couldn't-" she stopped, feeling her throat spasming as she fought to keep from bawling like a baby. She glanced around at the ring of faces. "Don't you see…?"

"It's all right, Amelia." Lina's expression had altered to one of understanding. "I'm sorry. I guess we all do things for the sake of the one we love…" she said softly.

Amelia was not the only one to notice the look that passed between the diminutive sorceress and her handsome fiance. _Tomorrow, _she decided. _I'll ask them tomorrow._

She took a deep breath and got to her knees, moving over so that she was kneeling next to Zelgadis' shoulders, then lifted his head into her lap. "You're sure he's all right?" she asked Lina as she stroked his dark hair back from his forehead, marveling at its softness.

Lina nodded. "He's just exhausted, like you."

Amelia sighed with relief and bent over her beloved, her fingers caressing his smooth, warm cheeks and his silky-soft hair, wondering what color it would turn out to be. _My Zelgadis._

"Well," Xellos took a step back from the rest of them. "It looks like the fun is over, for now. I must be getting back before my mistress misses me."

"Thank you for everything, Mister Xellos." Amelia bowed slightly from her sitting position.

The apparent man gave her a sly glance. "I'll pop by again sometime… I'd like to see how that little-modification-you neglected to mention is working out." He vanished, still wearing his outlandish purple earmuffs.

Amelia blushed at the subtle reminder of how she had deceived him. _Somehow I have the feeling that he's not really all that angry, though… He seems to be impressed by cleverness and audacity. Look how much he favors Miss Lina._

Kerrin looked startled. "He-he really _was_ a mazoku, wasn't he?"

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "He has a strange way of seeing us humans, but not all bad-"

"Oh, no!"

Everyone jumped and turned to gape at Prince Phil, who had leaped to his feet with his hands buried in this thick black hair.

"What's the matter?" Lina yelled.

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Author's Notes: Can anybody guess why Zel is feeling all those 'zings'?

No, I didn't copy the underwater scene in Slayers Premium when I was describing how the Oracle's musical light-ripples matched the notes people heard-but if you have that movie you can watch that scene to see what it looks like. (Or any show that has underwater CGI ripples in it. I think they're very beautiful.) Just imagine the ripples with glowing pearly pastel colors instead of being all white. And add music. (Boy, I sound like I'm describing a cooking recipe or something…)

Thanks to **Sagara Sanosuke **and **Ichiban Victory **for their info on the proper use of names in the Slayers world. Since 'el' seems to mean 'the eldest-born male' (or the one first in line to inherit the throne), I decided to add a 't' to show that Zelgadis married into the family, as the husband of the princess who will become Queen. In this case it's Amelia, who is the second-born, but she's still going to inherit the throne, just as if she was first-born.

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Beedoo says: I'm doing a revamp on my site if you'd like another place to archive your story/art collection.

Sure, I'd like that. I don't seem to have your email address, though, so if you want to contact me, we can see about getting some fanpics up. I think you can get the chapters from ff. net itself.

**Tenniyo comments: **-you're not alone about the TRY season-the original creator didn't write that part of the series, so the production company had their way with just about everyone-Amelia wasn't nearly as adorable, Syphiel was nowhere to be found, but she appeared in the commercial break portraits for no apparent reason, and Xelloss was a complete and total bastard compared to how sneaky and yet likable as he was in NEXT. Just about everyone in TRY was somewhat out of character. To this day, I believe the only real good things to come out of TRY was Filia and Val+ the scene at the end where Zel has one of Amelia's charms-which gives a good opening to your fic which has led to this. XD

Hey, I hadn't thought of it that way, but now that you mention it, no wonder season three felt so off. And you're right-most everybody was out of character. I do like the scenes that showcase Zelgadis' coolness, like the gunfight scene, but, as I don't particularly like Filia, those scenes-and the scene where Amelia asked Zel to return to Seyrune with her-are the only bits I really enjoyed from TRY.


	86. Chapter 86: Human At Last

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Only Stone on the Outside

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a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

2003

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

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PG for mild language

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Chapter Eighty-Six: Human At Last

"Oh, no!"

Everyone jumped and turned to gape at Prince Phil, who had leaped to his feet with his hands buried in this thick black hair.

"What's the matter?" Lina yelled, turning around so fast that her pink dress swirled around her.

"I didn't have time to bring the guests here to witness the ceremony! They're all waiting in the ball room right now."

"Oh, is _that_ all." Lina waved a hand at the big man, frowning in annoyance. "Don't be so melodramatic. We're had enough crises for one night."

"But it _is_ a big deal," Prince Phil protested. "I'll have to tell the guests that they missed it all. They'll be _so_ disappointed. Some of them have been here for an entire _month_, waiting to see Amelia's wedding…eating mountains of food…" he mumbled.

Lina scoffed.

"How am I going to explain this to them?" He turned desperate eyes on Lina.

Lina shrugged. "Say he just got here."

"What? But I couldn't lie to them!"

"It's not a lie. Technically, the human Zelgadis _has_ just 'arrived'. And thanks to his dithering, we nearly didn't make it as it was!" Lina scowled down at the young man, but had to smile at the gentle, loving look on her friend's face as Amelia gazed down at her new husband, one hand absently stroking through his hair.

Hesitantly Amelia's hand touched one of his ears, running the end of her finger over the warm, flexible pointed tip. _It's a lot smaller than his chimera-ear, but I'm glad to see he didn't lose those cute little points that make him look like an elf. _She giggled. _I ought to feel guilty about putting poor Daddy on the spot like this, but there's nothing I can-or is there?_

"Miss Lina…" She looked up at her friend. "I was going to ask you tomorrow, but…"

"What is it, Amelia?"

"I wanted to offer to host your wedding here, in Seyrune."

Lina looked stunned, but before she could answer, Prince Phil and Kerrin were congratulating them on their betrothal. "Who's the lucky man? Have you chosen a date yet?" Phil asked her, beaming.

"Actually…" It was not Lina who answered, but Amelia. "I was wondering if you wanted to do it tomorrow."

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"What?" Lina, Gourry and her father all asked at once.

Amelia shifted uncomfortably. "I know it's a bit sudden, but I've noticed how well you've been getting along with Mister Gourry lately…"

Lina sputtered, "But that's no reason to- I just got _engaged!"_

Amelia gave her a stern look. "If there's one thing I've learned from you, Miss Lina, it's that anything can happen, and that you should seize your opportunities with both hands." The young woman looked down at the slumbering man in her lap, and added softly, "Because you never know if something's going to happen, and then it'll be too late …"

Lina's protests stalled as her mind flashed back to the many occasions when she had come close to losing Gourry. She opened her mouth, closed it, and tried again. "But Amelia…"

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Amelia said innocently.

"Hey!" Suddenly the bold, vivacious Lina Inverse that everyone knew was back. "Who said anything about being afraid?"

"Of course not, Miss Lina," Amelia said. "I just thought-since the palace is all decorated…and the chefs are preparing so much food for the reception tomorrow anyway…"

"Food?" Gourry, who had sensibly stayed out of the discussion, now looked interested. "What kind of food, Amelia?"

"Oh, every kind, Mister Gourry." Amelia smiled persuasively. "Our chefs have been working on all kinds of things… rare delicacies from all over the continent."

Lina licked her lips, as her eyes lit up with stars, then shook her head as if snapping out of a trance, and gave Amelia a shrewd look. "Wait a minute. You wouldn't happen to be looking for a way out of this mess with your guests missing the wedding, would you?"

"Oh, I-" Amelia put a gloved hand behind her tiara, as if abashed. "I guess you found me out." _Well, that's partly it, but it's also because if I don't help you out, it'll be years before you get around to marrying Mister Gourry. You helped me with my wedding; now I want to return the favor._

"You think if you give them a wedding to watch, they'll be happy, right?" Lina demanded.

"Uh…yes…" Amelia gave her friend a pleading glance. "But I'm also thinking of your and Mister Gourry's happiness. You've been together for three years already; isn't that long enough?"

"Now, now, Amelia, if Miss Lina says she isn't ready, then you mustn't rush her," Prince Phil said.

"But Daddy!"

Amelia blinked as her father turned his face away from Lina and winked his near eye at her. "We'll just have to tell the guests to go home. I'll tell the chefs to throw out all that food." He turned and began walking toward the palace.

Lina got to her feet. "Uh…wait."

"What a waste…"

"Wait a minute, Phil!" Lina picked up her skirts and began hurrying after the departing prince. "Hey!" she bellowed. "You talked me into it!"

"All right!" Gourry cheered.

Kerrin looked back and forth between everyone, a bewildered look in his eyes. Amelia noticed his expression and laughed. "Something's always happening around Miss Lina. You'll get used to it."

"Hey, Amelia!" Lina now stood about halfway across the hedge-enclosed garden.

"Yes, Miss Lina?"

"There's something I was planning to give you," she called.

Amelia looked a bit wary. "What is it?"

"This." Lina held up her arms and chanted a spell that Amelia had never heard of, but its purpose was clear as a huge ball of energy flew up from the red-haired sorceress and exploded with a soft _pop_ into a mass of vivid colors, raining down through the night sky like fireworks. Lina repeated it again and again, grinning at her friend. "Congratulations, Amelia! And Zel, too, when he wakes up! Congratulations!"

Gourry, Kerrin and the priest joined in. "Congratulations!"

Prince Phil protested, "Miss Lina, you'll alarm my guards-please stop that!"

"Are you kidding? I worked on this spell for an hour!" 

"They're already overprotective enough as it is-come on, stop it, please?" he pleaded.

Amelia sat peacefully with Zelgadis' head on her lap and gazed up at the sparkling symbols of joyous triumph, their brilliant colors reflecting in her eyes. _Thank you, Miss Lina._

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A bird chirped sweetly outside of her window, and the scent of roses drifted in on the gentle breeze. _Home. _Amelia smiled and snuggled down under her favorite soft blanket, letting her thoughts drift.

Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she bolted upright as her memory came flooding back. _Zelgadis!_

The princess leaped out of bed, almost landing on Shiran, who had taken up a spot on the large shaggy yellow rug by her bed. The dark-haired girl threw open her wardrobe, seizing the first dress that came to hand and dressing hurriedly. Shiran's lavender bulk moved as the dragonwolf stretched out full-length, yawning, then got up and followed as Amelia shoved her feet into slippers and dashed from her room, her heart pounding.

The hall echoed with the clap-clap of her slippers on the stone floor. _They said they'd let me know as soon as he woke up-but by the sun, it's nearly eleven. What if something's really wrong with him?_

The previous evening, it had been decided to bed the deeply-sleeping Zelgadis in a room close to the healer's quarters, just in case. Gourry had shared the room, with Lina in the room next door.

Amelia had had to suppress her longing to have everyone go away and leave her alone with her new husband, even though she herself had been practically asleep on her feet. Her father had carried her to her bedroom, as if she were still a little girl. Although embarrassed, she had felt so warm, so safe, that she had barely managed to change into a nightgown before falling into bed, asleep before her head hit the pillow.

She sighed wistfully. _That was supposed to be our wedding night… Oh, well. I wanted to ask Zelgadis' opinion on which bedroom he'd like, anyway. And what kind of furniture he likes. I couldn't ask him _before_ the journey, of course…and my old bed is a little small for two people…although I'm sure we'll manage until our new room is set up…_

She blushed, wondering what tonight would be like, and then frowned slightly. _As long as Zelgadis is all right…_

Kerrin had volunteered to sit by his cousin's bedside for the rest of the night so that Gourry could get a good night's sleep. '"I know you're worried about him, Miss Amelia,"' he'd said, when she'd protested sleepily to be allowed to stay. '"I am, too. It's no trouble-_I_ haven't spent the last two months traveling, so missing a night of sleep won't hurt me."

Amelia smiled as she ran. _He's such a wonderful boy. I'm so glad he's my cousin now._

She burst into the room to see Gourry sitting in the bedside chair, back in his usual clothes, with Kerrin curled up asleep on the far bed, his red-brown hair drifting gently in the light breeze from the open window.

She barely noticed their presence, focusing instantly on the young man who lay asleep in the bed just in front of her. The room was filled with warm sunlight, surrounding him with a magical shower of sparkling dust motes that danced gently in the breeze.

She could not move, could not take her eyes from the beautiful sight of her Zelgadis, human at last (as he had wanted to be for as long as she had known him) sleeping peacefully right here in his new home, safe and sound.

Or is he? Her worry returned in a rush. 

"Good morning, Amelia," Gourry said cheerfully. "Lina'll be here any minute. They needed to measure her for her wedding dress."

"How is he?" she blurted out.

"Still asleep," Gourry said.

Amelia gave him a slightly annoyed glance. _I can see that._

He went on, "Boy, you guys were really tired. Lina and I have been up for hours… When I woke up, Kerrin was still watching over Zelgadis, so I told him I'd take over so he could take a nap."

Amelia relaxed a little. _Of course; he's just worn out. I mean, I just woke up myself, and we _both_ did the mothball spell, so it's only natural that he'd sleep as long as I did. I guess it's just that I'm used to his chimeric endurance…but he _is_ human now. And he looks all right to me-at least, he doesn't seem to be in pain or anything. _

Just then the swordsman's stomach growled. He chuckled, placing a hand-the green one-behind his head. "Sorry."

"Do you want to go have something to eat, Mister Gourry?" Amelia asked, smiling a little.

Gourry beamed at her. "Sure." As he got up from the wooden chair, he asked her, "Did you eat anything yet?"

Amelia shook her head, murmuring a negative as she sat in the chair, which was still warm from its former occupant.

"I'll bring you something, then." Humming a cheery tune, the tall swordsman left, closing the door behind him.

Shiran approached the bed and sniffed its occupant. Seeming satisfied, she lay down on the floor nearby, apparently ready to finish her nap.

For a long minute, Amelia simply sat there, listening to her heartbeat gradually slow down, watching the blanket rise and fall over Zelgadis' chest. Gradually, she realized that she was avoiding looking directly at him, and lifted her gaze to his face. Instantly, she felt her face flush.

__

What's wrong with me? she berated herself, putting her hands to her warm cheeks. _It's just Zelgadis, right? The man you married last night? He's your _husband,_ for goodness sakes!_

Yet she could not quite shake off the feeling that the beautiful young man would turn out to be a stranger. _He reminds me of Kerrin… It's like I'm looking at one of Zelgadis' relatives, instead of at the familiar face I knew and loved… _Her hands clenched under her chin as she felt a sharp pang go through her. For a long moment, she couldn't move, biting her lip at the unexpected sense of loss, feeling her eyes sting.

Then Shiran nudged her elbow. Surprised, Amelia looked at the lavender dragonwolf, who stood almost eye-to-eye with her, and Shiran reached out to lick her cheek. Automatically Amelia held up her hands to defend herself, an involuntary smile coming to her lips. "I'm all right, Shirry. I just didn't realize that I was going to miss his old form this much. Even if it _was_ the form I fell in love with…"

She put her arms around Shiran's neck, absently stroking the thick, soft fur. _But he's here. And he's _real_-not a dream. So if that's the only sacrifice to come out of all of this, it's one I'll gladly pay._

A slight movement caught her eye, and she looked up at the far bed where Kerrin lay. He was sleeping on his side, facing the half-open window, and his fluffy auburn hair was fluttering in the warm breeze. _It almost looks like it's dancing, _she thought, and giggled, suddenly feeling better.

Now Zelgadis' hair was moving too. She watched as a small piece lifted up, wavered back and forth as if indecisive, then dropped gracefully down to cover his closed eyes. Amelia hesitated only a moment before standing up and moving closer to the bed, reaching to smooth the silky hairs back into place. Even though she was expecting it, the softness of his hair still surprised her. _Maybe he'd enjoy having me brush his hair. I really liked it when he did mine…_

With that simple touch, the last of her tension eased, and she allowed herself to do something that she had always avoided out of consideration for Zelgadis' feelings: she stared at him. Her yearning eyes traced his face in minute detail, memorizing every inch and mentally comparing it to his old one.

The most dramatic difference was in his coloring. His skin was normal flesh-colored now, a little pale, but some time out in the sun would take care of that. His hair had darkened from shining silver-blue to a beautiful rich deep blue, with light blue highlights, and no longer looked spiky despite still being a gravity-defying fluff, just like his cousin's.

I like it, she admitted to herself. _His silver hair was pretty, too, but this is just as nice. Now he won't have to worry about hurting me or getting his hair stuck into a piece of wood again. _She suppressed an unladylike snort, not wanting to hurt his feeling in case he heard her and thought she was laughing at his new appearance. Instead she gave in to the temptation to run her fingers though his silky locks. _Such a lovely color, like the sea, or the sky at twilight, with the first stars twinkling…_

Then she noticed his ear, just barely peeking out from his hair, and gently ran her fingers over it, admiring the way it curved into a gentle point at the tip. _They're not as long as an elf's ears, but I like them this way. They're more balanced, more graceful. But still so cute!_

His features were still unusually delicate for a man. He had a wide, intelligent forehead, a small nose, and high, elegant cheekbones that tapered down to a rather small, pointed chin. _Such big eyes…I wonder if they're still the same color? Look how long his eyelashes are…_

She stepped back to take in the overall view. _He's still very good-looking, although now he's more 'cute' than 'handsome'. _She smiled benignly down at him._ I think it's because he looks younger. In fact, he hardly looks older than me. Maybe he has some elf-blood in him…_

Indeed, his fine features, his large eyes, and especially his small, pointed ears gave him the same exotic, elfin appeal that he had always had for her. _But I'm glad to see that I can still recognize him. He's still my Zelgadis. _

She leaned over to study his face more carefully Slowly, her expression grew pensive. _Without his protective stones, he looks so…fragile. Vulnerable-like Kerrin. _She frowned. _He looks…worried. Poor Zelgadis. Even asleep, you can practically feel the strain he's been under. I guess it was easier for him to hide it before…_

"So, what do you think of Zel's new look?" came a familiar loud voice.

Amelia started and sprang guiltily away from where she'd been hovering over her beloved, missing the way his eyelids twitched. "Ah, Miss Lina, good morning!" She gave an embarrassed laugh, putting a hand behind her head. "So, um, did you get your dress done?"

"Yeah-the tailors promised the alterations would be ready by four." The red-haired sorceress, back in her usual red and yellow outfit, crossed her arms. "You didn't answer my question. What do you think? It's an improvement, right?"

Amelia turned to look at the young man lying still and silent under the blanket. Even though she liked his new face, Lina's attitude made her feel the need to defend his former appearance. "He's very nice-looking…" she agreed faintly.

Her friend cocked a fine orange eyebrow. _"'Nice-looking'? _Amelia, are you blind? He's gorgeous! He has the best-looking face I've ever seen on a guy-well, except for Gourry, of course."

"Of course." Amelia smiled to see her friend's blush.

"In fact, he reminds me of his grandfather Rezo," Lina mused. "And you gotta admit, even though he was an arrogant, insane mage possessed by a shard of the dark lord, Shabranigdo, the man was beautiful."

Amelia merely nodded.

"What's wrong, Amelia?"

"Nothing. I just… I… I'm just being silly."

"What about?"

"I miss the cute little rocks in his chin."

Lina facefaulted hard enough to make the beds vibrate. Shiran jumped, then gave the melodramatic sorceress a clearly annoyed look.

"Well, you asked." Amelia smiled down at her friend's silliness, suddenly in a better mood. "But you're right-he _is_ beautiful." She beamed at her friend, who was slowly climbing to her feet. "He looks like a prince. And the best part is, he'll be able to kiss me now without worrying that he's going to hurt me."

Lina gave her a wry, affectionate grin. "Among other things…"

"Miss Linaaa!"

Zelgadis lay there, listening to the mischievous sorceress teasing the younger girl, slowly becoming aware that his body was awake-and it hurt. _Not as badly as it did last night, from what I can remember… It's not like having a wound, it's just sort of an allover feeling of…tenderness. I'm uncomfortable, but it's not unbearable._

He pushed aside those thoughts. _Anyway, it worked. I can _feel_ again. _He felt himself relaxing as a warm, languorous feeling spread through him.He couldn't remember feeling this serene since…since before Rezo cursed him. _After four long years, it's over. Finally._

As he hovered on the edge of sleep, he heard Amelia say, "What about your families? I wasn't thinking last night-we can hold off on your wedding until you can invite them-"

He jumped when Lina shouted, "No! I mean, that's okay, I don't want to put you to any more trouble or expense on our account…"

Her nervous laugh puzzled him, as he imagined her with a hand behind her head. _What's this about a wedding?_

After a few moments, he heard Amelia ask suspiciously, "Miss Lina, are you trying to get out of seeing your older sister?"

From the guilty silence that followed, he suddenly understood. _Apparently Lina and Gourry are planning to marry soon, and Amelia's helping them out. You'd think they would've had enough of weddings by now._

Finally Lina stammered, "Of-of course not! But there's no way she-I mean, our relatives could possibly get here before all the food spoils, so we'll just have to make the best of it, right?"

Zelgadis felt his face twitch, unable to completely control his surprise. _They're having it _now?

Lina happened to be facing Zelgadis when she saw a look a surprise flash over his face, before it resumed its usual impassive expression. Her eyes narrowed. _I saw that. He's awake. _She stiffened._ Oh, no! Did he hear what we were talking about? _She scowled, embarrassed and angry._ I bet he thinks it's funny to see the great Lina Inverse reduced to a panic-stricken idiot at the mere mention of her older sister. _

Amelia was giving her a puzzled look, reminding the older girl of her friend's plight. _What is he _doing? Lina growled mentally. _Amelia's worried about him-I saw the look on her face when I walked in. Is he planning to sleep all day?_

"Miss Lina, is something wrong?"

"No, I-" The petite sorceress stopped, and a slow smirk appeared on her face. "Hey, Amelia… Zel's been sleeping an awfully long time, don't you think? Do you suppose it's something magical? Like those old fairy tales where the princess needs a kiss from her true love to wake up?"

Zelgadis stopped breathing, astonished.

Amelia looked shocked. "Oh, no, Miss Lina, do you really think so?"

"You know, maybe you ought to give him a kiss, just to be sure." Lina was grinning now, noting the slight flush that had appeared over Zelgadis' cheeks. _Ha, he's all flustered. Serves him right. _

Amelia too was blushing, remembering the kiss from last night with longing, but embarrassed at the idea of doing it in front of her friend. _Well, I did it last night, but that was expected-it was a wedding, after all. _She looked at her sleeping prince, and bit her lip._ But what if Miss Lina's right? I can't take any chances. _"A-all right…" she said shyly, and stepped to the side of the bed.

She looked down at the strange-yet-familiar young man and noted his faint expression of discomfort. Most people would not have noticed it, but she had become adept at reading his face over the years. _Oh, poor Zelgadis-something's really bothering you. Maybe a bad dream? _She felt her heart go out to him, and smiled tenderly, her dark hair swinging forward as she bent over him and took his face in her hands. "It's time to wake up now, darling. All the bad dreams are over," she whispered, and pressed her lips to his.

Zelgadis was too stunned to move as he felt Amelia's warm hands lightly touch the sides of his face, and then his entire body seemed to be full of electricity again as her soft lips covered his. He forgot about Lina, forgot about his still-sore body, forgot about everything as he reached up to wrap his arms around her and pull her down to him, welcoming every blessed sensation like the gift it was.

Amelia felt Zelgadis twitch, and then his arms came up around her, holding her close. She felt him respond to her kiss warmly, tenderly, and the rest of the world went away.

Lina smiled in satisfaction. _Mission accomplished. I think I'll go see what Gourry's up to…_

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Author's Notes: Ichiban Victory and **Songwind** were right on the money about Zel's 'zings'.

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Ichiban Victory's reply-If you mean why he's feeling everything so intensly, it's got to be because he's had such a tough exterior for so long. Like when you've worn shoes for so long that when you step out barefoot into the grass it's a completely different experience.

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Songwind's reply-All I can really say is he is SO not used to being human anymore. I figure he's going to be highly sensitive to every touch he makes for a while.

I figure having stone skin is like having fingernails. Ever break a nail? Above the flesh, I mean, _without_ it cutting into your skin? Even with no visible injuries, do you remember how tender the skin that used to be protected under the nail is for a day or two? (I especially notice when I try to type right after I've broken a nail. Owie.) Only Zel is going to be that tender all over his body-double owie! Talk about having to 'toughen up'!

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Kusanivy asks: I may not be remembering properly but wasn't part of the reason they had to cure Zel the fact that as a chimera (especially one who is part Mazoku) he wouldn't be allowed to marry Amelia or become prince? Soo... if Zel still IS a chimera (albeit a very human looking one) does that make the marriage null and void?

I'll address that in the next chapter, along with Lina and Gourry's wedding, and also tie up a bunch of loose ends that I've left hanging. Remember Gallant? And Ponmar? Lina realizes a secret about Xellos… And just how _exactly_ does Zel's new spell work, anyhow?

My thanks to **Kaeru Soyokaze **for pointing out the problems with the last chapter. I re-loaded it, so hopefully this time it'll make more sense.


	87. Chapter 87: Hello, Li

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Only Stone on the Outside

__

a Slayers fanfic

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by Dreamsinger

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested.

Many thanks to my friends Shell Presto and Marie!

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PG for mild language

Note: **A**m**e **is Zelgadis' nickname for Amelia. It means 'sweet' or 'sweets' in Japanese. The English equivalent would probably be 'sweetheart'.

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Chapter Eighty-Seven: Hello, Li

Zelgadis was completely lost in sensations; the tingling warmth where their mouths merged, the feel of her breath on his face, the eloquent sighs and murmurs of long-denied ardor from each of them…

Amelia's heart overflowed with joy. She wanted to laugh and cry and do somersaults, but not for a moment did she let go of her prince. Oh, this was what she had dreamed of, to have Zelgadis accepting her love and returning it with equal passion!

Neither of them could say how long they kissed before memory of the day's plans returned to the Seyrune princess. Reluctantly, she lifted her head, breaking the kiss. She found herself looking into soft, wondering blue-green eyes, beautiful eyes whose irises were once again human-round. With their faces mere inches apart, Amelia nearly lost herself in his shimmering teal depths, until he asked quietly, "This is probably a silly question, but are you all right? The last time I saw you, you were…"

__

Unconscious, Amelia finished mentally. _Oh, poor Zelgadis. So _that's_ what was worrying him? _She felt a silly, tender smile spread over her face. "I'm better than I have been for a long time."

As she watched him smile for the first time with his new face, she felt herself go soft inside. _Miss Lina was right. He's gorgeous! _she thought dreamily. _Oh, Miss Lina! _She pulled back, her raven hair swishing as she scanned the room with wild eyes for her audience. Only Shiran and the sleeping Kerrin were there.

"What is it?" Zelgadis sat up and a pained look came over his face.

"Where's Miss Lina? And are you all right?" She turned her focus back to him.

"I think I heard her leave, a while ago." Slowly Zelgadis reached up to feel his new ears, gingerly exploring their smaller-but still pointed-tips._ I don't think my hearing's gotten much weaker, if it's diminished at all. _He wanted to smile in satisfaction, but that was difficult at the moment. "And I'm fine…just a little sore." _That's an understatement. I feel so…tender all over. I think I can feel every fiber in my clothing and the bedding. And my ears… _He twitched them involuntarily. _My hair keeps tickling them. _He twitched them again, and looked up with in surprise as Amelia giggled.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Amelia grinned. _I suppose I shouldn't tell him I think his ears are cute. _"I'm just glad you haven't changed too much. You're still my Zelgadis."

He relaxed, and smiled back, ignoring his sensitive skin. _And she's still my Amelia. _She looked even more adorable to him than usual. Her raven hair was all sleep-tousled and she had obviously gotten dressed in a hurry, as the bow in the back of her frilly white dress was undone, trailing on the floor. _It's going to get all dirty._ "Come here," he said impulsively.

"Huh?"

"Turn around."

She obeyed him after giving him a curious glance. Zelgadis braced his weight somewhat painfully on the side of one leg and reached out, using his new hands to gingerly tie the two long strips of white cloth into a large, somewhat lopsided bow. He noticed that he was still wearing the pale blue wedding suit, whose tight sleeves cut into his inner elbows every time he bent them.

"Thank you," Amelia said.

By the time he finished, Zelgadis' teeth were clenched. _Ow. I never realized how difficult something as simple as tying a bow could be when your hands hurt. _He felt a moment of empathy for elderly people, with their arthritic hands.

"What's the matter?" Amelia had turned to take his hands in hers, and he pulled away before he realized what he was doing, and winced at the mingled hurt and alarm in her eyes.

"I told you; I'm a little sore, that's all."

The young woman's eyes narrowed and she leaned over to take a good look at his face. Before he could stop her, she had placed a hand on his cheek, running her fingertips down the side of his face in a manner reminiscent of the time she had done so after their 'date' at the concert hall. But this time, he could feel it.

Zelgadis tensed a little, expecting it to hurt, but instead he found himself closing his eyes to savor the marvelous feeling of her smooth, warm fingers gliding lightly across his sensitive skin. There was a little soreness, but it still felt good, the way a massage feels good to sore muscles. He could trace every separate tingling trail that her fingers made, and opened his eyes a little wistfully when she was done to see a puzzled look cross Amelia's face.

"Your skin _feels _normal," she reported. "It's not all red or burned or anything. I can't see how your skin would come to be so-"

"Burned." Suddenly Zelgadis understood. "That's it, Amelia. You know how burn victims have to regrow lost skin, and it's very soft and tender for a while?"

"Oh, I see." Her eyes lit up in comprehension. "You have new skin-or maybe not, it's just that your real skin has been sheltered under your stone skin for so long that-well, your skin is going to be extra-sensitive for a while?"

"I think so. I should probably wear clothing made of softer materials at first, until I toughen up."

Amelia grinned at that phrase. _I never thought I'd hear the original 'Mister Tough Guy' say something like that! _She almost said so aloud, but just in time she remembered how much he had once hated how 'weak' his human body was. _That was the whole reason he let Mister Rezo transform him_ _in the first place. He felt that his own real body didn't measure up. I need to make him see that I don't think any less of him just because he can be hurt like anybody else now._

"Well, of course." Amelia nodded her head in approval. "That's a sensible idea. After all, your body's just been through a monumental ordeal; _most_ people probably wouldn't even be able to sit up yet." She noticed that he seemed to sit a little straighter at her praise, and she made sure to smile warmly at him. "But I _know_ you'll be all right; you're so brave!"

The young man's face turned pink over his nose and cheeks, and he gave her a shy smile that almost made her melt. _Oh, he's so adorable!_

Zelgadis watched the shining eyes of the girl in front of him, feeling a tingle that had nothing to do with sensitive skin begin in the vicinity of his heart. _It was all worth it, just to see her smile like that. I'd do it again in a heartbeat._

"Zelgadis," Amelia said after nearly a minute had passed. "Um… How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

It took him a moment to orient on her question. "I'm twenty-three. Why?"

"Oh…" She looked confused. "It's just that you don't look much older than me."

His brow furrowed. "I don't?"

She shook her head.

Suddenly he was alarmed. _Did I turn into someone else? Or myself as a boy, even smaller and weaker than I was at nineteen? _"Is there a mirror around here?"

"Yes, there's a big full-length one just a few doors down from here."

Zelgadis pulled aside the light blanket and began the awkward task of sliding his legs to the side of the bed. He soon discovered that it was easiest to do it quickly, to get it over with as soon as possible.

Amelia's eyes widened in alarm. _Are you sure you should be getting up? _It was on the tip of her tongue, but she managed to stifle it, sensing that this was important to him. Instead she stood by his side, ready to help him if he needed it. Mindful of his pride, she did not touch him. _I know he'd hate being treated like an invalid._

Zelgadis suppressed a groan as the cold stone floor caught him by surprise. _They should have left my socks on. _He appreciated Amelia's supportive presence, glad that she did not make the situation worse by touching him, and favored her with a stiff smile. "Okay…that wasn't so bad."

Amelia nodded, and walked beside him as he moved carefully toward the door.

Suddenly a mass of lavender fur blocked their way. "Shiran, move." Zelgadis waved an arm to one side.

The big beast whined softly, laying her long tapered ears back and carefully extending her slender, elegant head toward the former chimera's face. Amelia had to smile. "She's worried about you. She wants to help."

Zelgadis was warmed by the sight of the enormous, powerful dragonwolf with the eerie glowing green eyes approaching him with such gentle caution. "Good girl, Shiran." He waited until the big beast had sniffed him a few times, then he said firmly, "Shiran, flank."

Immediately Shiran glided smoothly between him and the bed, standing so that her head was level with his elbow. He knew she was offering to help brace him if he faltered. Zelgadis dropped an affectionate hand on her furry head in what was meant to be a single grateful pat, but the thick, silky fur distracted him and he found himself stroking the lovely animal, whose emerald eyes closed in bliss at his caresses.

"I'd forgotten the marvelous texture fur has," he explained to Amelia, who was watching him with a small, understanding smile.

"I know," she agreed. _I can see he's going to be like a young child for a while, touching anything and everything to find out what it feels like!_

Soon enough, Zelgadis straightened and began taking careful steps toward the door. He let Amelia open it for him, then slowly made his way down the hall, wincing at the coldness of the stone floors.

The door Amelia stopped at opened into a room that Zelgadis recognized. _This is where Kerrin and I changed clothes. _He looked around, recalling how he had felt at the time, not knowing what was going to happen next, full of hope and dread, trying to mask his anxiety with irritation.

Zelgadis remembered the huge wood-framed mirror that stood on its own wheeled stand in the corner, and faced it apprehensively. He took a deep breath, then walked forward. In the mirror, a young man approached him, a small, thin young man, with big blue-green eyes and a profuse fluff of glossy dark blue hair. He had a small nose, high cheekbones, and an incredulous expression, as if the person in the mirror was not whom he had expected to see.

__

That's me. That's really **me! **Zelgadis tried an experimental smile, and a rush of gladness nearly overwhelmed him as he recognized the man in the mirror. It was like meeting an old friend. _Hello, Li._

Amelia had to brush away happy tears as she watched her beloved move slowly forward and put both hands on the mirror, staring at the sight of his human self as if he could never get enough. His eyes, too, shone with tears.

After a long moment, Zelgadis lowered his arms, the tense line of his shoulders relaxing. "The last four years…" he said quietly, his eyes never leaving the mirror, "Something's been horribly wrong for the last four years, but now… It almost seems like some kind of wild, impossible dream, like a nightmare…and it's finally over."

Amelia's smile was full of joy. "I'm so glad," she said simply, her blue eyes shining, cupping her hands together over her heart to keep herself from throwing her arms around him.

The young man who was Zelgadis turned to face her. "But not all of it," he added, "Not all of it was a nightmare. Not meeting Lina or Gourry…and not falling in love with you."

His expression held the familiar solemn sincerity that she remembered, and she again had to hold herself back. "Oh, _Zelgadis…"_

Her tone was halfway between laughing and crying, and he gave her an odd look, then blinked and ducked his head with an adorably embarrassed grin, as one hand moved up behind his head. She noticed then that the sleeves of his jacket were too long.

Zelgadis was unprepared for the giddy rush of emotion that swept through him. _How her eyes shine! _He felt his own heart soaring to the sky, and then something inside him burst free and he began to laugh, harder than he had since childhood. The dark, heavy clouds of the past years lifted away, leaving him feeling so light and free that he wanted to cheer, to race across the land on the back of a horse, to leap into the air and play cloud-tag with Amelia…

__

My beautiful Amelia. It's all thanks to her. He turned to beam at his beloved, only to see her staring at him in surprise. He laughed again and swept her into his arms, heedless of the soreness, holding her tightly against him as he'd always wanted to. "I love you, Amelia!"

He felt her arms go around him. "Zelgadis," she murmured, her tone somewhere between astonishment and gladness. "You laughed."

His joy burst from him in another peal of laughter, and he reveled in it, loving the wild freedom it gave him, as if all of the walls inside him had vaporized into a heady steam, intoxicating him.

Zelgadis gazed down into those wondering sapphire eyes and let himself do something he had wanted to do for a very long time. "Ame," he murmured, and slid a hand behind her head, gently tilting her face so that he could kiss her.

__

Zelgadis, my darling, I'm so happy. Amelia gave in to the urge to hug him closer, his mouth warm and soft on hers. _You laughed-a laugh of pure joy, not tainted by irony or self-hatred. You're healing-your soul is healing! Just like Kembri and Miss Dahri said-the part of you that needed healing the most was on the inside… Oh, I'm so happy for you!_

"Amelia?" came Gourry's voice from down the hall. "Zelgadis? Where are you?"

The two of them broke the kiss, staring at each other with quivering eyes over blushing noses; then Zelgadis released Amelia. She stepped back, but reached out to take his hand gently in hers, not wanting to let him go. "Here, Mister Gourry," she called.

Zelgadis was a little embarrassed about holding her hand. _But it's only Gourry, after all," _he told himself. _Anyway, this kind of behavior is expected of newlyweds. _That set off a whole new, rather intriguing train of thought, involving himself and Amelia and not too many clothes. He barely noticed Amelia's conversation with Gourry, although he noted the word 'breakfast' in a vague sort of way.

After Gourry left, Amelia led him by the hand back to the medical room, where a tray with two generous servings of food had been left on the wooden chair. For the first time he noticed Kerrin sleeping on the other bed. "How long has he been there?"

"All night," Amelia said. "He sat by your side all night long, after the healer said you didn't seem hurt, just worn out."

Zelgadis smiled in affection at his considerate cousin, the only person in his family whom he loved like a brother. _I'm glad he's going to be a part of my life again._

"I would have done it too, but I was nearly as bad as you were," Amelia added hurriedly. "Daddy had to carry me to bed."

"Are you all right?" He felt a twinge of worry.

"I'm fine." She squeezed his hand a little to reassure him. "I think what happened was that last extra bit of spell that we did used up a lot more energy than I thought it was going to. Remember the dream I had? About Mellesande, the girl who crafted our Star Spheres? I remember thinking at the time how much energy it must take to do holy magic, because she looked so tired afterward. But she was fine later, wasn't she?"

"If you mean that she lived to have a happy marriage with Gaderi, the chimera who wrote the journal about his journey to the Oracle's cave, then yes. As I recall, he returned to her as a human and they had three normal, human children."

"Oh, yes, they did. Tell me, did the Oracle tease you?" Amelia grinned at him. "The journal said she talked like his mother, making him confess how he wanted to marry one of the Seyrune princesses even though he felt unworthy."

"You know about the Oracle?" He looked at her in surprise, and then realized how close his face was to hers.

"Of course. I was in a hurry, so I skimmed through most of it, but I remember reading about the Oracle. Here, I'll show you. Where is it? In one of the saddlebags?"

Now Zelgadis was embarrassed. "I, uh, lost it."

"You what?"

"I couldn't help it," he said defensively. "It fell in the water while were being attacked by a sea dragon."

"Oh-Miss Lina mentioned that. That's when you…almost drowned, wasn't it?" Her voice had gotten progressively softer, with the last few words barely whispered.

He nodded. "That was the first time we were connected, through the Star Spheres. I could feel your presence with me, telling me not to give up. I probably would have, if not for you." His hand tightened on hers for a moment.

"Oh, Zelgadis…" For a moment her eyes were misty, but then her positive nature asserted itself and she said, "Well, if you want, I can tell you about it. You didn't get to read the end?"

He shook his head, trying to focus his mind on her words instead of how close she was to him. "No. I'd memorized the map, so I knew where we were going, but not what we'd find once we got there. We managed to figure it out, though."

"Good."

"In fact…it might be a good idea to make a record of our journey, to help others in the future. According to Lina, the Oracle can only see one person per year, so it would probably be best to keep it a secret. Something to use as a last resort."

"I see." Amelia nodded. "I'll keep our copy hidden in the white magic archives."

There was a pause, and then Amelia added casually, "Today is going to be too busy for that, though. For one thing, we have to get your suit altered so you can attend Miss Lina's wedding to Mister Gourry."

__

I do **not** want to get into that right now. The rich smells of the hot, steaming food in front of them were beginning to affect him, but then he caught himself. "My suit?"

"It seems to be a little big on you." Amelia looked apologetic. "I should have thought that you might be shorter, um, I mean, that you might need a different size now."

Zelgadis gave her a wry half-smile. "It's not your fault. This is the real me-short, skinny-"

"But it's wonderful!" Amelia protested vehemently.

Zelgadis was startled. "What?"

"Your eyes… They're not so far away now. You're-" She lifted one shoulder in a shrug that said she knew her statement sounded odd. "You're _here."_

Zelgadis stared down at the sincere young woman, and suddenly realized that with the difference between their heights lessened, she did not seem nearly as much of a child any more. "I see what you mean…" He smiled slowly. "I do feel closer to you." _So that's why I've been noticing how close she was standing to me. She's closer in height, not in distance. At least I'm still taller than she is._

"And you don't even look that far from me in age. Are you really twenty-three?"

Zelgadis opened his mouth, then closed it. He set the side of his forefinger against his chin, musing, "I was about nineteen when Rezo transformed me…and just now when I looked in the mirror I didn't see any signs that I'd gotten older. Maybe chimeras don't age at the same rate as humans."

Amelia's eyes widened. "Does that mean you're immortal?"

Again he hesitated, then shook his head. "If I stayed in chimera-form, maybe. As it is, the non-human parts of me are dormant, so they don't affect me." He took in a deep breath and let it out. "Thank the gods."

She blinked at him. "Huh?"

Zelgadis gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "One of my worst fears was to live as a chimera forever. I used to have nightmares about it."

"Oh, poor Zelgadis." She gave him a compassionate look. "I never thought about that, how sad it would be to live on after everyone you loved was gone. I wouldn't like that at all."

_Not to mention looking like something that no one would ever love in the first place,_ he thought reflexively, but then firmly shook his head. _Enough self-pity. Amelia **did** love me; my appearance never mattered to her. And my unimpressive size won't matter to her, either, even if I'm the laughingstock of the royal court. Amelia's opinion is the only one that matters to me._

"…So you're only two years older than me?" she asked.

"Physically, yes. Mentally, no."

"Oh…" For some reason she seemed disappointed. "Well, it's still nice to feel that you're closer to me than before."

__

And **that's** the only thing that matters to her, he realized. _All most women want is to feel close to their loved ones. Physical appearance isn't nearly as important._ "You're right," he agreed. "It is."

Just then Zelgadis' stomach, having waited patiently for far too long, let out a grumbling protest about the tantalizing food going to waste right in front of them. Amelia giggled. "I guess I don't have to ask if you're as hungry as I am!"

There were no tables, so after a bit of thought Zelgadis took the blanket from the bed and folded it to make a warm cushion between them and the stone floor. They left the tray in front of them on the wooden chair, and began eating with enough gusto to almost rival Lina and Gourry. Fortunately, their swordsman friend had piled the tray high, so that they were even able to share some tidbits with Shiran, who waved her bushy tail and politely accepted them.

As they ate, Zelgadis was relieved to notice that his skin's sensitivity seemed to be easing somewhat. _In a couple of days I should be completely back to normal. Part of it is probably just my having to get used to instant feedback when something touches me. I'm not expecting it, so I overreact. _He closed his eyes as a shiver of gratefulness passed through him. _But I'll gladly take this over being stuck for the rest of my life in a suit of stone armor!_

"That reminds me," he said aloud, turning to look at Amelia. "Where's the Oracle's orb? We should put it somewhere safe. Or better yet, keep it-" 

He stopped short as she shook her head at him. "It's gone," she said.

His fist clenched involuntarily, and he instantly winced as he felt his nails bite into his tender flesh. "Ow-w-what do you mean, it's _gone?" _he sputtered loudly.

****

Author's Notes: Zel is now only about 5'6" where before he was 5"10', at least in the anime. I know he was shorter in the manga. Amelia is about 5'4", so he's only a couple inches taller than she is. I like the idea of them being able to see eye-to-eye. 

**Admiral Fern comments: **I haven't enjoyed a Slayers fanfic this much since I read 2F's trilogy years back.

DS-Thanks for the compliment-and what trilogy was that? I'm always interested in good fanfics!

****

Kusanivy points out: I may not be remembering properly but wasn't part of the reason they had to cure Zel the fact that as a chimera (especially one who is part Mazoku) he wouldn't be allowed to marry Amelia or become prince?

Soo... if Zel still IS a chimera (albeit a very human looking one) does that make the marriage null and void?

DS-Not exactly… If you want to get technical, his ears are chimeric, but not the rest of him, and as he said, they don't affect him, so he's essentially human. Plus, I don't think there's an actual law against marrying a chimera/mazoku/demon/nonhuman, so Lina's use of the words 'a chimera wouldn't be **allowed** to marry the white magic princess' have more to do with how the people of Seyrune would react, not about breaking any laws.

See, when Lina was explaining all this to Gourry she was picturing how the average citizen would react if they saw Amelia marrying someone who was obviously not human. She (and Phil) both knew that people would be unsettled at best. At worst, there would be outbreaks of violence, or even a revolt. Not a desirable thing for the City of Hope that Zelgadis described.

****

staramaijka mentions: you know Zel wasn't part mazoku, but part brow/bras demon? It's been clarified in several web sites that demons are not mazoku.

DS-Yes, I knew that. Lina says 'part demon' when she explains the marriage problems to Gourry in chapter 11Sunset Reflections. 

**Kristall asks: **I still want to know why that gem made people tell the truth even when they didn't want to.

DS-That's in the next chapter, actually…

**Hakuyo-chan says: ** I've been trying to draw something from one of the scenes (Near the first few chapters) but I'm a bit rusty with drawing with pencil.. if your interested in seeing it when I finish it (Hopefully) just let me know I'm not that great at describing things in that much detail, and half of the "big" words you've used I dont really know what they mean.. I've been trying and trying to write a Slayers fanfic of my own… maybe you could give me some tips?

DS-Sure, I always look forward to getting new fanpics! And as for writing, I took a through-the-mail course in writing fiction for young adults. It explains a lot of stuff that sounds easy and obvious as soon as you read it, but it's stuff that doesn't always occur to you until somebody points it out. Like, when your character is looking at something, put in sensory data-what do they smell, hear, feel? It makes your reader feel like they're really there, right along with your character. Use your imagination, try to put yourself into their shoes.

Big words-well, if you read a lot, you kind of just pick them up as you go. I never put down a book I'm reading to look up words; I just try to figure out what they mean by how they're used in the sentence.

Plus, I like having a choice. I like knowing how two words that the dictionary says mean the same thing can actually be very different. For example, in the passage above, where Amelia breathes into Zelgadis' ear, I first used the word 'sexily', but I didn't like that, and changed it to 'amorously'. To me, 'sexy' can be too-well, perverted, I guess depending on how you use it, and with what kind of characters. To me, it's a word for experienced adults, not for young, fairly innocent maidens like Amelia. I like 'amorous' better because it focuses more on love, (the Spanish word for love is amor, by the way) romance, and longing.

Dictionaries never tell you in what ways the words 'sexy' and 'amorous' are different, but boy does it make a difference!

I play instrumental music to keep out other peoples' noise while I write. I can't listen to music with words, though-it messes up my concentration. I like piano music, like George Winstons's CD 'Summer' and Celtic harp music, like Aine Minogue, or Maggie Sansone. The anime series His and Her Circumstances Act 1 CD is very good for thinking romantically.

****

Bissek asks: One question, though. Why do you refer to Zelgadis as Greywyrs? I believe the alternate spelling from Greywords is Greywyrds. As wyrd is a Celtic or Gaelic (not sure which) term for fate, That would translate Zelgadis' last name to "gloomy fate", which certainly fits the man he was at the start of Slayers.

DS-Really? I didn't know that. This was from three years ago, but I think I was trying to make his name sound more Celtic, to tell you the truth, (Celtic names always sound so magical and mysterious) but the letter 'd' on the end made his name sound too klunky-the rest of it just flows until you come to this hard 'd' like a stumbling block. So 'wyrd' means 'fate'? That's cool. Well, you can just say his name is an alternate spelling, like how you can spell the name Crystal as Krystal or Cristill and it still means the same name. 'Gaelic' is the name of the Celtic language. I think I read somewhere that 'Zelgadis' is a Greek name, actually.


	88. Chapter 88: Happiness

**Note: I expanded two scenes and added some details here and there.**

Only Stone on the Outside

**a Slayers fanfic**

by Dreamsinger

**2003**

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. **Rating T**

Chapter Eighty-Eight: Happiness

"Where's the Oracle's orb?" Zelgadis looked at the young woman sitting beside him on the floor of the healers' room. "We should put it somewhere safe. Or better yet, keep it--"

Zelgadis stopped short as Amelia shook her head at him. "It's gone," she said.

His fist clenched involuntarily, and instantly he winced as he felt his nails bite into his tender flesh. "Ow--w-what do you mean, it's _gone?" _he sputtered loudly.

"Shh--you'll wake Kerrin."

_That's the least of my worries. _Zelgadis glanced the bed on the far side of the small room, noting the deep, slow breaths of its occupant. "Amelia, what mmph--"

Zelgadis glared at the Seyrune princess with fierce blue-green eyes. She removed her hand from over his mouth. "Shh, I said. He's been up all night--and besides, there's something I need to tell you, and I don't think you'll want anyone to hear it. We're not likely to have much privacy for a while, you know."

He calmed down, and nodded to let her know he was ready to listen.

Her blue eyes were serious. "The orb…it vanished from my hands right after you became human again."

Zelgadis let out his breath in mingled shock and horror. "No…" he breathed. _Did the Oracle betray me? Why-- _

Amelia interrupted his thoughts. "Now, I've been thinking about it since last night. Tell me,

Zelgadis, did the Oracle _ever_ say we would have to do this whole ceremony all over again if you ever changed back to a chimera?"

Zelgadis hesitated. "Well, no…but it's not like I asked her. "

Amelia nodded. "So the spell we did last night was permanent, wasn't it?"

"I--I guess so. It depends on what you mean by permanent." He shifted uncertainly on the hard blanket-covered stone floor. _Permanently human, or permanently in a half-state? I'm not sure where she's going with all this…_

She must have seen the bewilderment in his eyes. "It gives you permanent control over your form," she clarified, as if it were obvious.

The former chimera stiffened in shock. _No! Could it be that easy?_

Amelia didn't give him time to think. "And while I was casting it, I thought about that phrase--you know, the one the Oracle suggested--to turn you back into a chimera…"

Zelgadis rubbed the back of his neck, trying not to let the feeling of soft hairs brushing across his hand distract him. _Why do I have this strange feeling of foreboding?_

"…and I also thought 'wouldn't it be wonderful if all he has to do to be human again is say--'" Suddenly she stopped and looked at the sleeping Kerrin, watching him for several moments as if to make sure he was still asleep.

A sudden dread took Zelgadis in its grasp. His eyes widened. "No. Please, don't tell me--"

Amelia looked abashed. "'Zelgabunny,'" she whispered. "Just like the Oracle suggested." She winced at the expression of horror on his face. "It was all I could think of at the time."

Zelgadis put a hand over his eyes, shaking his head in resignation. "I should have known I'd end up with _some_ form of humiliation from all this."

After a minute, Amelia began hesitantly, "Sorry…"

Zelgadis looked up at the poor girl, who was practically squirming with shame, and felt his shoulders relax. He gave her a rueful smile, his eyes softening with affection. "Don't be. It's not your fault. In fact, I should be apologizing to you. I never even thought about a counter-reverting clause, to turn me back into a human if I should ever need to go chimera again."

Her sapphire eyes still held a shadow in their depths. Impulsively he reached out and took one of her hands, letting a hint of laughter into his voice. "Better yet, you saved me from an even _worse_ humiliation--having to beg Xellos for help a second time."

He was rewarded by the sight of her face lighting up with joy. She gave a soft little laugh and threw her arms around him. "Oh, Zelgadis."

He closed his arms around her, glad to be able to hold her close without worrying about hurting her, as long as he paid attention to the messages his extraordinary skin sent him. He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent, strawberry shampoo and warm skin, finding excitement and comfort both in the aroma, and in the feel of her soft warm body against him.

_Mmm…I could hold you all day long…but I have the feeling that someone's going to pounce on us any minute now with preparations for Lina's wedding. And probably a lot of other things. _He gave her one last squeeze, and released her. _Tonight, my girl, tonight you and I will spend together, and then we'll see just what this new body of mine can do…_

Amelia looked into her beloved's large teal eyes, and shivered. _I know that look. _She felt no fear, only excitement and the pleasure of knowing that he found her as desirable as she found him. Still, she blushed a little, and watched him smile at her.

"You're so cute when you do that, Amelia," he said softly, and before she had time to react to his compliment he went on, "So what are the phrases again?"

She looked at Kerrin and leaned forward to whisper into his ear, "Well, to become a chimera, you say 'Boos--' oh, wait, I shouldn't say it out loud. I don't want to accidentally transform you."

She looked thoughtful, then smiled and took his long hand in her small one and traced 'Boost Brothers, come forth!' on his palm.

Zelgadis twitched as she wrote. _I'd forgotten about being ticklish. I want her to stop--and yet I don't. _

Amelia saw him shiver. She grinned and slid her arm around his. _I can flirt, too. _She leaned even closer, her lips actually brushing his ear through his soft blue hair, and murmured amorously, "To change back into a human, you say, 'I am Zelgabunny.'"

This time she _felt_ the shiver of pleasure run through him, and had to fight to keep her mind on her message. "Since I'm the one who cast the spell, I can use those phrases, too, I think. I don't know about Miss Lina and Mister Xellos, but it's probably not a good idea to mention it to them."

Zelgadis nodded slightly. She could tell from the tense way he held himself that he was trying as hard as she was to keep his mind on business, and smiled to herself, pleased at his reaction toward her. "Yes--I can just imagine either of them taking it into their head to change me back and forth at the most inconvenient times, as a prank."

"Mm-hmm," she murmured into his ear, then gave in for a moment and kissed it, and giggled. As she sat back she caught the surprised look on his face, which changed to a playful sort of expression, one that she had never seen before.

His voice took on the rich, vibrant depth that she loved so much as he teased, "You just wait until tonight, my girl. I'll show _you_ tickling." He winked at her. "Among other things."

Amelia could only smile foolishly at him through her blush. _I can't wait until tonight. Today's going to seem so long!_

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Gyaah!"

"Sorry, Phil!"

The blonde-haired swordsman stood up from where he'd been leaning over the balcony railing. "Look what you made me do, Lina! I dropped my ice cream cone right on the Prince's head!"

Lina snickered. "That's what you get for not paying attention." She focused her attention virtuously on her own enormous soft-serve cone, just as if she hadn't been trying to sneak a bite of his while he wasn't looking.

"I'd barely started it," he moaned, turning big sad puppy-dog eyes on her.

Already feeling regretful for the awful waste of good food, Lina felt an unaccustomed surge of shame for making her fiance unhappy. _I really should be nicer to him. Especially today, of all days… _"Here, Gourry," she said abruptly. "You can have some of mine." Suppressing her fierce greed, she held out the brown-and-white swirled object of every food lover's dreams.

Gourry gaped at her as if she had lost her mind. "Lina, are you feeling all right?"

She gritted her teeth against the powerful urge to yank the cone away. "I'm fine!"

"But Lina…you've never offered to share your dessert with me! I don't get it… Why?"

"I don't know." She was surprised at herself. "Because I love you?" _That sounds right. I guess Gourry's more important to me than food. Who would have believed it?_

Gourry softened. "Well…thanks, Lina."

He leaned toward the cone, sticking out his tongue. At the sight, an entirely different urge swept over the red-haired sorceress. "Wait!"

Gourry froze, his pink tongue extended, his eyes bulging in fear.

"I want to make sure you don't eat it all." An fascinating idea had occurred to her. "How about we eat at the same time? You start on that side and I'll have this side…and we can tongue-wrestle over the last bits."

A slow grin spread over the swordsman's face. "Sounds fair."

The ice cream was finished long before their latest bout of 'wrestling', although eventually the twosome ended up cuddled together as they stood looking out over the city, their arms around each other.

"You know what, Lina? You've changed a lot."

"Hm?" She looked up at him curiously.

The tall swordsman wore a rare, musing expression as he gazed out over the city. "You used to hit me a lot more," he explained. "Other people, too. Now it takes a lot more to get you really violent--"

"Hey!"

"You know, when I met you, you were just a kid. A really powerful kid, but still a kid; someone who needed looking after."

Lina opened her mouth to argue that point, but he continued, "But lately I've noticed how you treat people. You're starting to think of others before yourself. You're even taking responsibility for stuff you've done."

Not sure how to feel about his first comment, she stiffened in indignation at the second one. "Hey, I _always_ take responsibility for--"

"Oh, really?" Now he looked at her, and suddenly she found it hard to meet his serious blue eyes. "What about all the times we ran out on people after you blew up their towns?"

Stunned, she tried to think of a scathing reply, but could only manage a weak, "Well, you ran away too…"

"Because you needed me more. My first responsibility is to protect you. Besides, I'm not a builder or a healer--I wouldn't have been much help to those people. But you could have used your magic to make things better for them." His tone was soft, even gentle, but it was a reprimand nonetheless.

Anger was nothing. Anger she could take, but this quiet disapproval had her eyes stinging with sudden tears. _Why is he saying such cruel things all of a sudden? I can't undo the past._

Gourry moved around behind her, sliding his arms around her body so that he could hug her from behind, with his chin resting on her fine copper hair. "You're growing up, Lina. And I'm glad."

And suddenly everything was all right again. Relaxing, Lina pulled his arms closer, enjoying his warmth in the cool morning air, appreciating that he had chosen not to wear his armor. "Oh, Gourry. I…thank you."

"What for?"

"Well, for…for forgiving me, I guess. Not everybody would. I've caused a lot of trouble for you over the years."

She felt him chuckle. "I wouldn't have missed it for anything." The genuine affection in his tone was as warming as his body.

As they gazed out over the brilliant blue sky, Lina's thoughts wandered back though all of the adventures they'd had, both the good times and the awful times. Something was bothering her. "Hey, Gourry…"

"Yeah?"

"Maybe you're right. Sometimes I guess I _am_ a little too ready to use my fists--or my spells--instead of my head. I mean, sure, it gets results, and--" she laughed, "it's damned satisfying, giving people what they deserve--but it probably makes me as many enemies as it does allies. When I think how easily that Ponmar believed that I was the leader of a group of fifth-rate mages who think of the outer world as nothing more than 'easy pickings'…"

Gourry, ever the wise fool, kept quiet and let her think out loud.

"Well, I… I don't like it. I mean, I knew I had a reputation…some people, when they meet me, walk on eggshells to avoid ticking me off…but still, that's not in the same category with the kind of people who go out and prey on innocent people, people who haven't got a chance to defend themselves against magical attacks, since the magic in the outer world is so weak… Am I?

Gourry had gotten lost somewhere. "Are you what?"

"Am I as bad as Ponmar says?" He caught the note of self-doubt in her tone, something that was new, but happening more often lately as she grew older.

Gourry considered. "I don't think so…" He sensed that she wanted more, so he bent to kiss the top of her head, feeling her shining red curls tickle his nose, then said, "I don't know what other people think of you…but if you don't like it, you can always change. You can treat people right, so they'll respect you, instead of using violence to scare them into doing what you want."

She was quiet for a long time. Gourry was gazing off into the distance, his mind drifting pleasantly through the sweet blue sky when Lina said, "It's not going to be easy."

He blinked, trying to focus both his eyes and his mind. "What isn't?"

"Stopping myself from using violence. It's a habit."

"Oh."

After a long pause, Lina turned in his arms, putting her hands flat on his chest and staring up at him with those heart-stoppingly vivid ruby eyes of hers. Her eyes shimmered with feelings, feelings he wasn't used to seeing there--need, and hope, and a kind of hesitant resolve that grew stronger as he watched. "Gourry, I want you to help me. Help me try to control my anger--at least, keep me from blasting people who don't deserve it."

His eyes flew open. "How do you expect _me_ to stop _you?" _The very idea of getting between the hot-tempered sorceress and her target made his hair stand on end.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I've never tried this…never seen my own actions so clearly before. I'm beginning to see patterns in my life that I never realized I was weaving."

"Weaving?" His forehead wrinkled in puzzlement. _Is she saying she wants to become a tailor?_

Lina's eyes unfocused for a moment, and then she met his eyes with a clear, steady gaze. "But one thing I _do_ know is that I trust you. And I know you know the difference between me beating up a bandit and me throwing a…a temper tantrum." She looked embarrassed at this admission. "So, if you think I need to back off from a situation, tell me. Try to get through to me…" Her voice grew softer, with a hint of that huskiness he liked that only happened when she was feeling the softer emotions. "…And I promise, I'll try to listen from now on."

He had never heard her promise such a thing--or ever expected to, either. Now, though, it sent a warm feeling flowing through him, softening his eyes as he gazed down at the fiery young girl--no, young _woman_--who had such a hold over his heart. "Okay, Lina. I promise, too."

Lina felt her heart soar, as if a burden had suddenly been lifted. "Thanks, Gourry." She leaned up to kiss him, and he was more than obliging to bend down the rest of the way to meet her lips with his own.

A few minutes later a brisk wind swished through, tangling their hair together. Lina pulled her head back, breaking their kiss, and shivered a bit. "Well, you can sure tell it's autumn. Brr."

"Here, Lina." Gourry enfolded her in his arms, with her back against his warm, firm body.

The petite sorceress relaxed, smiling dreamily. _Mmm. I love it when he holds me like this. Ever since the time Ponmar captured us, when I was so sick and Gourry held me in his lap all night, comforting me… When he holds me like this, I feel so secure, so loved…_

Then Lina noticed his green hand, the one Amelia had inadvertently changed while she was trying to prove that the Star Spheres were not working right. _I hope it wears off soon. At least he'll be wearing gloves for our ceremony, thank the gods. Damn that Zelgadis. I wish I'd figured out a way to get him to go along with our plans from the beginning, instead of having to go through all that trouble. Maybe if I'd thought to ask Xellos for a way to force the truth out of Zel, he'd have given me the truth-gem sooner. _

She frowned. _Still, he could have told me that the gem has the power to make you tell the truth. If I hadn't figured it out--wait a minute! _Her eyes widened. _Do you suppose he doesn't _know? _Of course! _She mentally snapped her fingers. That's _why Xellos never lies. His master probably had him wear it for ages, so he got into the habit of telling the truth and never even realized it! HA! The joke's on him! _

Feeling smugly satisfied, she snuggled back deeper into Gourry's embrace, a smile of utter contentment softening her features.

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"Does anyone else know I'm still a chimera besides you and me?" Zelgadis asked his new bride in an undertone, mindful of Kerrin's presence nearby. They were still sitting on the floor beside the empty bed in the healers' recovery room. Zelgadis' auburn-haired cousin slept quietly in the bed near the window.

"They all do," Amelia answered. "Everyone who was there last night, I mean. Mister Xellos figured it out."

"Damn," he muttered. "Well, at least he doesn't know the phrases. You never said them out loud, right?"

"Not while I was casting it, no."

"I'll have a talk with Phil, Kerrin and that priest. Lina will know to keep her mouth shut, and Gourry probably won't remember, anyway…" The young man who was Zelgadis put the side of his index finger against his chin as he thought aloud, and Amelia felt a surge of grateful recognition pass through her at this familiar, beloved gesture.

"We won't say anything," he decided. "No sense letting word get around that Seyrune's new prince isn't all he appears to be, at least not before some crisis makes it absolutely necessary. Life will go much smoother that way."

Amelia beamed at him, suddenly misty-eyed. "My prince… Oh, it sounds wonderful."

The young man gave her a look of surprise, then a soft smile of understanding. "It sounds almost too good to be true, doesn't it?"

"No."

He blinked at her in surprise.

"It's one thing if you're happy due to luck, or because someone else provided you with what you wanted," she said solemnly. "That kind of happiness can be taken away, sure, but it's different when your happiness is due to hard work and sacrifices. When you really know yourself, and decide what's most important to you, and are willing to work for it, then it's not the kind of happiness that can be taken away so easily."

She reached out to take his warm human hand in hers. "We've _earned_ the right to be happy, haven't we, Zelgadis? There's no need to feel guilty, no reason to punish yourself any more by not letting yourself be happy."

Zelgadis looked at the smiling dark-haired girl sitting so close to him, holding his hand in her own small soft one, and realized that she spoke the truth. "I'm doing it again, aren't I? All those years of unconscious self-hate… I've gotten in the habit of feeling unworthy of happiness."

He paused to relish the sensation as she gave his hand a sympathetic squeeze, then continued, "But you're right. Damn it, I _do_ deserve some happiness. Not because I've been through a horrible ordeal. Not even because I was victimized by my own grandfather. The fact is, I was a young, callous brat when I was transformed, and it wasn't until I met you and the others that I began to change, to become a better person."

Impulsively, he lifted Amelia's hand to his face and pressed his lips to the back of her hand, closing his long-lashed eyes in reverence. "It was thanks to your friendships that I was able to see past my own petty hates, and learn to care about others."

He opened his eyes to see tears shining in the sapphire eyes of his princess, but she gave him a dazzling smile and said, "Then I'm glad. If you've learned that much, you might even say that everything we've gone through was worth it, wouldn't you?"

He brushed another kiss across her hand and simply nodded. _She's right. If I had met her as the cocky, thoughtless youth I once was, I probably would have assumed she was just another crazy airhead princess, and avoided her. It never would have occurred to me that someone so young and silly would grow up to be the brave, caring, intelligent woman she is now._

Amelia turned to look at the empty dishes. He sensed that she was feeling her duty to get the day started, and released her hand. He was content to sit for a moment, watching as she got up from the floor and began to stack the ceramic dishes neatly on the tray with a series of clanks. _Even if I hadn't been cursed, I wouldn't have been happy. It took four long years as a chimera to make me appreciate what really matters in life. It was the hardest lesson I've ever learned…but look at my reward. _

His thoughts stilled for a moment as he gave his princess a fond smile. She was carefully picking up the unwieldy tray, and did not see him, but her every movement was a joy to the former chimera, simply because she was Amelia.

_I'm married to the most wonderful girl in the worlds, and I deserve to savor every moment of happiness I can. I won't be the fool any more and let it all slip through my fingers. _

At that moment a heavy ceramic pitcher that had held milk tipped off the edge of the tray, falling straight at Zelgadis. Even as Amelia said, "Oh!" his reflexes kicked in and his hands shot out.

"Ow!" The sudden pain shocked him. He sat rigidly, temporarily unaware of the rest of the world, fighting to control his reaction. His teeth clenched to keep him from making any more humiliating sounds as he pulled in deep, shaky breaths, trying to ignore the way his hands seemed to be on fire, throbbing and twitching.

The pitcher was snatched from his hands and Amelia's concerned face appeared. "Zelgadis, are you all right?"

The fear in her voice tugged at him. He pulled in a breath, held it for a moment, then answered evenly, "I'm all right. It just…took me by surprise. I don't think I'm injured."

The young woman sat back on her heels, looking relieved. "Thank goodness. I--

"What's wrong?" Kerrin's voice came from the other side of the room.

"Oh, good morning Kerrin!" Amelia smiled at her new cousin-in-law. "We had a little accident," she explained as Shiran rose from the floor between the two beds, stretched, and gave the youth a good-morning sniff in the face.

Kerrin held himself still, with wide brown eyes, and then relaxed. "I forgot about her," he said sheepishly, sitting up and running a hand through wild red-brown locks. He wore pale mint-green pajamas with horses on them.

The pain was fading. _Slip through my fingers, indeed! _Zelgadis thought with a wry half-smile.

"I'm sorry we didn't leave you anything to eat," Amelia said. "I wasn't sure how long you would sleep. Oh, and thank you so much for watching over Zelgadis last night."

The slender young man slid off the bed and approached the couple. "I was glad to." He turned to look Zelgadis' new body up and down. "How are you feeling, Li?" he asked, his vivid brown eyes full of concern.

The pain was down to mere soreness now, not much different from the way the rest of his body felt. "I'm just fine," Zelgadis said with a warm smile for his favorite cousin as he rose to his feet.

Amelia looked between the two of them, realizing that anyone could tell they were relatives now. Both young men stood the same height, had the same fluffy hair, the same small, slender build and big eyes in a delicate-looking face. Their only real differences were their coloring, and Zelgadis' slightly pointed ears, half-hidden by his shining dark blue hair.

Zelgadis gave his cousin a half-bow. "I want to thank you for everything, Rin. For watching over me last night, for giving up Amelia when you knew it would make her happier to marry me, and for all the support you've given us." His teal eyes were very solemn.

Kerrin looked a bit embarrassed, putting a hand behind his head and blushing, but he only said softly, "You're welcome, Li. I would do it all over again if I had to, to see you so happy."

For a long moment no one spoke, but before the silence could get too awkward, Shiran stuck her head under Kerrin's hands and yawned, showing off her fine while teeth, then nudged the youth with her head until he began to stroke her soft lavender fur.

All of them laughed as the serious mood was broken. "Well, Kerrin, would you like to get changed and go have some breakfast?" Amelia asked. "I have to get started on Miss Lina's wedding preparations."

"I'll take that tray to the kitchen for you," Kerrin offered. "I'm going to go eat first."

Amelia handed him the tray with a word of thanks, then turned to her new husband. "I need to see about some clothes--do you want to come with me? You should be measured for alterations. Oh, and your suit needs pressing to get rid of the wrinkles."

"So when is this wedding?" he asked as he followed her out of the room, Shiran trotting softly after them.

"At sunset. Everything is ready except the wedding dress I had planned to gift Miss Lina with. She's gotten--that is, she's grown a little more, um, full, since the last time she had clothes made here. She was really pleased to hear that!"

Zelgadis chuckled. "I'll bet!"

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**Author's Notes:**

**Gullwhacker comments: **To be fair, this story is mainly the drama/romance side of Slayers, without too much action. Nonetheless, it's practically an extra season of Slayers, in a way. There's just one thing missing. It needs a Dragon Slave in it somewhere.

DS…….You know, you're right. I should have put one in earlier…I'm afraid it wouldn't fit in at the end, mainly because of something Gourry comments on, about Lina's new maturity. That, and there are no bad guys at this stage of my fic. And I feel too sorry for the royal family to have Lina blow up the palace--she already wrecked part of their city in Next!

**Hakuyo-chan says: **I've been trying to draw something from one of the scenes (Near the first few chapters) but I'm a bit rusty with drawing with pencil.. if your interested in seeing it when I finish it (Hopefully) just let me know I'm not that great at describing things in that much detail, and half of the "big" words you've used I dont really know what they mean.. I've been trying and trying to write a Slayers fanfic of my own… maybe you could give me some tips?

DS--Sure, I always look forward to getting new fanpics! And as for writing, I took a through-the-mail course in writing fiction for young adults. It explains a lot of stuff that sounds easy and obvious as soon as you read it, but it's stuff that doesn't always occur to you until somebody points it out. Like, when your character is looking at something, put in sensory data--what do they smell, hear, feel? It makes your reader feel like they're really there, right along with your character. Use your imagination, try to put yourself into their shoes.

Big words--well, if you read a lot, you kind of just pick them up as you go. I never put down a book I'm reading to look up words; I just try to figure out what they mean by how they're used inthe sentence.

Plus, I like having a choice. I like knowing how two words that the dictionary says mean the same thing can actually be very different. For example, in the passage above, where Amelia breathes into Zelgadis' ear, I first used the word 'sexily', but I didn't like that, and changed it to 'amorously'. To me, 'sexy' can be too--well, perverted, I guess depending on how you use it, and with what kind of characters. To me, it's a word for experienced adults, not for young, fairly innocent maidens like Amelia. I like 'amorous' better because it focuses more on love, (the Spanish word for love is amor, by the way) romance, and longing.

Dictionaries never tell you in what ways the words 'sexy' and 'amorous' are different, but boy does it make a difference!

**TRAVEL ITINERARY CONCLUDED:**

WEEK 7: Dreams--true purpose of ward bracelet. Lina gets her period and can't help fly the Woodwind. Crash, heal injuries, must travel on foot. Stress builds--will they make it in time?

WEEK 8: Amelia's birthday/wedding. (I decided it would be a late summer/early fall birthday, probably September.) They arrive in Seyrune; Filia not there. Phil says midnight. Mere hours to go. Zel meets Kerrin--and can't kill him; we learn of their past together. Zel uses his Star Sphere to see if Kerrin matches--yes. Xellos appears to reclaim gem. Kerrin is invited to be family to Phil and Amelia. Zel leaves, but Lina catches up to him and delivers her rooftop speech.

Z remembers his dream--'I didn't just want a life; I wanted THAT life, THAT family…' He approaches Amelia and asks her about children. They share their first kiss.

11:30 pm. Globe plays music. Candlelit garden mosaic. Music and lights, Zel is human. They are instantly wed, and then Amelia falls unconscious. Zel is horrified, and fades out himself.

Morning--Amelia studies the new Zelgadis, Lina gets her to kiss him. Later: All the loose bits are tied up, and Lina and Gourry are wed.

**DS--**I play instrumental music to keep out other peoples' noise while I write. I can't listen to music with words, though--it messes up my concentration. I like piano music, like George Winston's CD 'Summer' and Celtic harp music, like Aine Minogue, or Maggie Sansone. The anime series His and Her Circumstances Act 1 CD is very good for thinking romantically. So is Fruits Basket: Song for Ritsuko Okazaki. Someday's Dreamers has some lovely Celtic-type music, too.

I would like to thank all the people who sent me words of support on my college endeavors. I took the SAT after 6 weeks of studying five enormous 'Taking the SAT' books, and I am pleased to announce that it paid off: I got a 460 on the math section, (for someone who hasn't used higher math in fourteen years, this slightly below-average grade is very good), aaand drum roll a 790 out of 800 on the critical reading/verbal section! The average score is a 509, so that means I did better than 99 of the test-takers in the USA. The two scores add up to 1250, which is a relief. I was told that you need at least a 1000 to get into college. Now I'm about to start my very first online class, General Psychology, on January 17th, 2006.


	89. Chapter 89: Meet the Newlyweds

**NOTE: CHAPTER 88 HAS BEEN REVISED. I ENTENDED TWO SCENES AND ADDED BITS HERE AND THERE. **

Only Stone on the Outside

**a Slayers fanfic**

by Dreamsinger

**2003**

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. **Rating T **

**Mallie--rhymes with 'alley'**

**Pergar--pronounced PURR-gar**

**Yoshilo--pronounced YOH-shill-oh**

**Chapter Eighty-Nine: Meet the Newlyweds **

The young couple stopped by the room with the mirror so Zelgadis could change back into his old clothes and boots. Although they were technically married and had even seen each other in the nude before, Amelia elected to wait outside with Shiran. He appreciated her thoughtfulness, which gave him the privacy to carefully study his new body in the full-length mirror, comparing it to his stone one.

His new body was much as he remembered it--a small, thin man who looked even younger than nineteen, with pale skin and the kind of muscular body one normally saw on strong thirteen-year-olds. He recalled how bitter he had once been when he'd realized that no amount of training could make him grow the massive, bulging muscles he had wanted so badly.

He turned to the side, flexing the long, wiry muscles of his arms. _I should be disappointed. I wasn't particularly large even as a chimera, but now I'm even less noteworthy. The kind of man people tend to unconsciously overlook. But you know… _He caught sight of his own youthful grin in the mirror. _Damn, it feels good! 'Ordinary' people shouldn't waste their envy on those who happened to be born physically impressive. I can tell them right now that _nothing _is as enviable as feeling like you belong. I can walk into any shop in the city and no one will look at me twice. _

_Hm. My hair needs a trim, _he thought absently, combing it with his fingers. It was no use--it sprang back into its usual gravity-defying mass, as thick and springy as he remembered from his youth. He shrugged and gave up on it for the moment, pulling on the clothes Amelia had bought for him, still grimy and travel-stained but full of precious memories.

The last thing he put back on was the wristband of pink cloth with the Star Sphere that symbolized his marriage with Amelia. _I never thought to ask her what the customs for getting married are here. I know some lands exchange rings or other jewelry… _He gave the awkwardly large metal sphere a wry look. _I suppose this counts as jewelry--the priest last night seemed to accept it, anyway. I wonder if I could get it set into a band of leather sometime, or something else that's not so flimsy and girlish-looking? _

He gathered the pale blue wedding suit into a bundle, tried to smooth his hair down one last time, and headed for the door, trying to ignore the way the insides of his boots felt like sandpaper. He'd never bothered to wear socks as a chimera, and the ones he'd worn last night had disappeared somewhere. As he emerged from the room, he asked, "Amelia, do you know where I can get a comb?"

The young woman smiled. "Sure. Is your hair giving you trouble?"

"It's too long--and it won't stay in place. I usually trim it with wire cutters every couple of months, but…"

Amelia giggled. "'_Wire cutters'? _Really?"

He frowned. "Of course. What else could I have used?"

Her smile faded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." She patted his arm, and he felt better. _I suppose it is pretty funny, at that. _Amelia was still looking a little anxious, so he gave her a smile that made her brighten and give him one of her beautiful smiles in return.

As they turned to walk down the corridor, the former chimera was surprised when the young woman touched his arm gently. As he turned wide blue-green eyes to hers--still getting used to the fact that they were almost eye-to-eye with each other--she asked, "Zelgadis, did you ever think about growing out your hair? Not as long as Mister Gourry's maybe, but how about waist-length? You have such _beautiful_ hair. So thick and wavy, and such a gorgeous, shiny deep blue color."

He was startled. "I don't know… I've always had short hair."

"Oh. Well, I was thinking about growing mine out, you see, and then I thought about what you might look like with long hair, and then I remembered a girl I know who has very thick hair. She had it cut once, and it looked awful because it wouldn't stay flat, so she keeps it long so its own weight holds it down."

"Oh, and you think mine might be like that?" That had never occurred to him. All the men in his family traditionally wore their hair short.

She gave him a sweet smile. "It couldn't hurt to try. And besides…I could brush it for you every night before we go to bed. You can brush mine too, if you want. I really loved how it felt when you brushed it before, when we were flying on the Woodwind."

_Oh, so that's what she's really after. _Zelgadis smirked knowingly, but just then Amelia reached up and gently slid her fingers through his hair. He stopped walking, surprised at the sudden shivery sensation, half exciting, half relaxing, that swept through his body in long, tingling trails of pleasure, right out to his fingertips. She did it again, and he found himself leaning in to her hand, his eyes half-closing, pulling in long, slow breaths in rhythm with her stroking. _Ahh. So this is what she felt back then. _He felt himself relaxing little by little, his breathing slowing even more. _No wonder she kept pestering me to brush her hair…_

"See?" Amelia smoothed his hair down gently, her voice softer, and somehow richer, enticing. "And I have the feeling that you'll look even more handsome than you do now."

"Maybe I'll try it." _I can always cut it if I don't like it._ He smiled a little and reached up to pull her hand down over his cheek, covering it with his own, enjoying the warmth and the touch of her soft, smooth skin. He closed his eyes to better concentrate on the feeling. _If nothing else, it will give the people something to identify their new prince by. I know enough about royalty to know you have to look impressive sometimes…and not many men in this city seem to wear their hair long, so… _He knew he was talking himself into it mainly because he wanted to please Amelia. _I wonder if I'll ever get used to being called 'handsome'?_

Zelgadis felt Amelia put her free hand on his other cheek, and opened his eyes to see her face, very close to his, her eyes soft and shimmery, lips slightly parted, her face full of love and longing. He felt himself sinking down into that familiar welcome warmth, that cocoon, the same loving cocoon he had felt the time he'd been drowning, being enveloped in something soft and warm and rose-colored…

Shiran let out a quiet woof. "Ah, so the young couple didn't get enough last night, eh?" came a man's voice, full of roguish humor.

Blushing, Amelia pulled her hands away from her beautiful, oh-so-tempting Zelgadis, turning to face the pair of servants who were approaching. One was Mallie, the tough-talking head maid with a heart of gold, and the other was her husband Pergar, a middle-aged man who did various odd jobs and had a rather randy sense of humor. "It's okay, Shiran," said Amelia. "Remain."

Pergar was grinning at them. "I rememba 'ow it was with the missus and me. Couldn't get enough of each other! Ah, newlyweds."

Amelia felt Zelgadis tense, but before he could start anything, Mallie said, "Stop it, Pergar. You're making her blush." Mallie swatted at the man's head, and he put up a hand to ward her off, chuckling.

"Ah, but that's 'alf the fun of being newlyweds, ain't it? Besides, the princess 'ere knows I didn't mean nothin' by it. Just glad she's finally settled down, aren't I? An' not just me--the whole kingdom can relax now."

"Whatever. Just keep your naughty comments to yourself. And get back to work." Mallie pointed down the corridor past the newlyweds.

"All right, I'm goin'…" As he passed the young couple, he bowed slightly, beaming at them. "Congratulations, darlin'," he said to Amelia. "Lovely animal," he added with a nod at Shiran. "I 'eard you had quite a time of it last night. You let me know if you need anythin', you hear? And that goes fer you too, young sir." With another small bow, he ambled past them down the corridor.

Amelia exchanged a look with Zelgadis, who looked as if he couldn't make up his mind whether to be amused or insulted.

"That man! Always wanting to gossip." Mallie put an arm around Amelia's shoulders, giving her a quick, rough hug. A large strong-looking woman many inches taller than her husband, Mallie had been like a mother to Amelia since she was a little girl. "Don't pay him any mind, 'Melia, darling. He just wanted to get a look at our new prince."

"I hope he doesn't act like that around visiting dignitaries." Zelgadis' voice held a mix of disbelief, disapproval, and a touch of anger. "It's too easy to offend the wrong person in negotiations."

"Oh, I keep him away from visitors, believe you me," Mallie said in a tone that agreed with Zelgadis' opinion of her husband's character. "That man can't open his mouth without putting his foot in it." Then her expression softened. "It's not his fault. He's just impulsive. But he's absolutely loyal to Prince Philionel, and he's strong, a willing worker--give him a task and he'll plug away at it until it's finished, no matter how long it takes."

Zelgadis was watching the woman with his customary solemn expression, obviously assessing both Mallie and her husband. "And I'll bet you're just the right person to provide guidance for him." Amelia was relieved to hear a note of amusement in her new husband's tone. He had apparently decided not to take offense at Pergar's words.

Mallie gave the small man standing beside Seyrune's beloved princess a long, shrewd stare. Amelia watched him blink, then stand straighter, as if he were a soldier being inspected by a general. She smile to herself. _Mallie does have that effect on people. _

The former chimera met the tall maid's gaze steadily, not challengingly, but not backing down either. Suddenly the large woman clapped him on the back, almost making him drop the clothing bundle. "I _like_ this one, 'Melia!" Her booming voice filled the corridor, startling another bark out of Shiran. "Not a silly, useless dreamer, nor a blustering, incompetent bully. You chose well."

Amelia winced in sympathy as she watched a pained, slightly confused look pass over his face, as he obviously wondered who this woman was and why she was qualified to pass judgment over him. _Ooo, that must have hurt. His skin is still so sensitive._ She was glad when he simply shrugged and said, politely, but with a note of the humor she loved in his tone, "…Well, I'm glad you approve, Mrs.-"

"Mallie," Amelia said quickly. "This is Mallie, the head of our maid staff, and that man was her husband Pergar. And Mrs. Mallie, this is Shiran, and this…is my…" _My beloved, my darling… _She felt her cheeks grow warm. "My new husband, Zelgadis, of the Greywyrs clan."

"Zelgadis, is it?" Mallie gave him another appraising look. Amelia wondered if she recognized the name from the few brief times he had stayed at the palace. If she did, she apparently decided not to mention it, instead asking, "A relative of Rezo the Red Priest?"

"Why, yes." Zelgadis blinked. "He was my grandfather."

"I hear he did a lot of good, traveling around, curing people."

Zelgadis looked stunned, and Amelia knew he was remembering the insane, inhuman sorcerer who had cursed his young grandson, then later taken control of his mind and used him like a puppet. Slowly he said, "Yes…he did. Now, Mrs. Mallie, what did Pergar mean about 'quite a time of it last night'?"

Mallie raised an eyebrow at his changing the subject, but answered, "Well, Prince Zelgadis,"--Amelia blinked to hear him called by his new title--"Everyone knows something's been going on for the past month. First little Amelia's ball gets called off, then the rest of 'em are cancelled and she's nowhere to be found. Then that sweet young man starts living here, the one who looks a lot like you--"

"My cousin," Zelgadis admitted.

"--And naturally we all assume _he's _to be our new prince, although nothing is officially announced. When the big day arrives, still no Amelia! Then, just before sunset, (which has _traditionally_ been the time for the Seyrune heir to marry, by the way) suddenly here you all are, plus this strange-looking beast something like a purple wolf--" she gestured at Shiran, who flinched at the abrupt movement and eyed her warily, "--and yet, _still_ no marriage! Instead you all lock yourselves away in one of the meeting rooms and eat like you haven't in a week."

She crossed her arms. "The cooks have been _quite_ overworked this last month, I can tell you. Anyway, so the entire castle is on pins and needles, wondering what's going on, and why Prince Philionel announced that the wedding would take place at midnight. _Midnight! _What kind of time is that for a wedding, anyway?"

She glared at the younger people severely. Amelia blushed a little; Zelgadis looked uncomfortable but finally spoke up. "It was necessary."

She snorted. "Some family custom of yours, maybe? Anyway, so everybody's gathered in the Great Hall, waiting with sweat running down our backs for something to happen, when the clock strikes twelve and _nothing does! _You should've _seen_ the commotion some of those people kicked up. That's what comes of holding parties past people's bedtimes--you get a lot of cranky guests who've definitely overstayed their welcome."

Again, she glared at them, but this time Amelia was trying to hold back a grin. _Mallie can be so funny sometimes. It's like watching a play. _

She caught Zelgadis' eye and watched his demeanor change as he noticed her amusement. He stopped looking like a little boy being scolded and said solemnly to Mallie, "I apologize for all the trouble, Mrs. Mallie. It really couldn't be helped."

"Well," she said in a calmer tone, looking mollified. "As long as everything worked out. Those of us who didn't see the fireworks that somebody set last night were told this morning that the marriage _did_ take place right on time, with our own head priest doing the honors, so I guess it's all right."

Amelia smiled at the large woman, who gave her a motherly smile back and said, "Well, I've got to get going. I just promised the rest of the staff I'd take a look-see at our new prince." She turned to leave, bowing formally. "A good day to you both, my lady, my lord."

The young couple bid her good day, then watched as she made her way down the corridor. Her voice floated back to them, "Although why you'd want to have the wedding outside in the dark is beyond me…"

After she was gone, Amelia threw her arms around a bemused Zelgadis. "She likes you! Wonderful! If Mallie likes you, then the others will follow her lead. Daddy always says that having the support of the servants is really important."

Zelgadis was distracted by the firm, soft feel of her pressed against him. "Yes…potential allies…hidden eyes and ears, uncovering plots, that sort of thing."

Amelia released him. "Right. If they resent you, they can get back at you in little ways, like bad food, ruined clothes, 'lost' possessions, abusing your horses so they're difficult to ride… But we haven't had that kind of trouble in a long time. Daddy requires everyone to treat our servants with respect."

"Your father has good policies. In spite of appearances, he really does know how to lead people," Zelgadis admitted, a little reluctantly. "I have a lot to learn from him."

Amelia looked pleased at his first voluntary compliment of her father. "Oh, he'll be happy to teach you! Daddy always says he's a teacher at heart."

_A 'teacher' who can kill brass demons with his bare hands. _It made him uneasy to realize that Prince Phil--and even that woman, Mallie--were probably stronger than he was. He didn't like feeling so vulnerable. _I'd better start training as soon a possible; otherwise I'm going to start feeling paranoid. The last thing I need is more mental problems._

Just then Mallie stuck her head around the corner at the end of the hall and bellowed, "Healer Johshilo wanted me to remind you to go see him this morning! Don't forget, 'Melia!"

Zelgadis looked at Amelia, whose face had gone bright red, contrasting nicely with the frilly white dress she wore. "What's the matter?"

She looked down at her feet. "It's…it must be for instruction to prevent…"

He caught on, and his own blush matched hers. "…Ah. Well, yes, that is important. We'll…go see this healer right after we drop off these clothes with the tailors, then."

Amelia looked up at him and smiled gratefully. As they began walking, she explained, "Being a mage _and_ a princess, I was taught about this as soon I became a woman, but in Seyrune most couples-to-be have a healer explain what to do. If neither of the couple is a mage, they're told that any healer's clinic can help them with…unplanned pregnancies. Especially if the woman still has a nursing child. It's not safe."

He nodded.

"Part of the reason Seyrune is so prosperous is how few poor people we have. No one has to struggle to make ends meet, with too many mouths to feed, so there's less incentive to commit crimes. I've worked in healers' clinics, as part of my training to develop empathy for other people's pain. It's very hard work…rewarding, but hard."

He understood. _Hard to see people suffering._ "Was that Phil's idea?" She nodded. _Yet another good policy. I've never heard of another ruling family doing anything like that. _"Your father really is a good ruler," he said, this time with no reluctance at all.

Amelia gave him a bright smile. "Anyway, it wouldn't hurt me to have a review of this particular lesson. I mean, I'm really looking forward to starting a family with you--" He was startled at how easily she said that. "--But maybe we'd better get the people used to you first. Besides…" She ducked her head shyly. "I don't know how you feel. We haven't really had any time to ourselves to talk about such things yet."

A sudden image came to mind, from a dream he'd had here in the palace just before he'd left with Lina and Gourry. _I saw Amelia with five beautiful children, all with her hair and eyes. They looked so happy together; a loving family. I was jealous of her husband. Funny; I was jealous of myself! _

Slowly he said, "Amelia…how would you feel about having a big family? Say, four or five children?"

Her look of astonishment quickly changed to elation. "Oh, _yes! _I've always wanted a big family!"

Her joy was contagious. Shiran wagged her fluffy tail, and Zelgadis smiled. "I'm sure you'll be a terrific mother."

"And _you'll_ be a wonderful father." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "A little strict, maybe, but as long as you remember to praise them a lot, they'll do everything they can to please you. And they'll love you so much!"

The former chimera felt his eyes unfocus, trying to imagine this. _I'm still getting used to the idea that there's _one _person who loves me. Having a whole _group _of people who think that much of me sounds…very good. _

"Maybe I'd better find Miss Lina and bring her with me. You know, just in case," Amelia mused.

Zelgadis found himself smirking at the idea of squeamish Lina having to sit through such a lesson. "You do that."

"You should really come, too," Amelia said blithely, and he gulped.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

As if Mallie's visit had broken the ice, Zelgadis and Amelia were approached by other servants. Amelia had to introduce them all to Shiran, who greeted them with varying degrees of friendliness, usually treating the weaker people gently, and the stronger, more aggressive people with wary politeness. _Like wild sheep, _Zelgadis realized, amused.

The people tended to treat Zelgadis in one of two ways; either they were polite but suspicious of him and his intentions, or apparently delighted to meet him. He couldn't blame the first group--he had, after all, married Amelia under highly unusual circumstances. Of the second group, he automatically assumed that most of them were trying to get on his good side as early as possible.

Many of these people expressed great admiration for Shiran, as if they thought she was a rare wedding gift he'd brought for Amelia.

The only exceptions were the youngest girl servants. Zelgadis was treated to the delightful-if embarrassing-experience of having several pretty young maids squeal and say to Amelia, "Oh, he's so _gorgeous! _I'm so _jealous, _Princess Amelia, wher_ever_ did you find him?" Zelgadis took his cue from Shiran, who treated them indulgently, like overenthusiastic puppies.

Amelia found that many of the people she had known since childhood were now treating her with a new level of respect. _I suppose now that I'm married, I'm finally an adult in their eyes. _And _I'm officially the heir. _A few people made good-natured comments about her wedding night, and Amelia blushed, even though technically she had nothing to blush about. _Yet. But just wait until tonight… Oh!_

Her steps slowed as a disturbing idea occurred to her. Zelgadis walked on ahead at first, then he glanced around for her and stopped walking, letting her approach him. He gave her a puzzled look, and Amelia became aware that her own face probably looked troubled. "Um, Zelgadis?"

"Yes?"

She was suddenly horribly embarrassed. "Will you--I mean, I know--" Her eyes widened as she heard footsteps approaching, and she glanced around frantically. "Come here!" She yanked open the nearest door, which led to a supply room for sheets and towels, mostly empty, since the palace was hosting a rather large amount of guests at the moment. She pulled him in, held the door open for Shiran to scramble through, then closed it.

All the color was suddenly gone. The only light came from the cracks at the top and bottom of the door, and from Shiran's eyes. With his skin a pale gray shade, Zelgadis suddenly looked almost exactly the way he used to. Amelia felt her heart jolt in her chest.

"What is it, Amelia?" The young man gave her a concerned look that almost took her breath away. She could feel her gaze soften. _I wonder if he has any idea of how beautiful he is…_

"Amelia?"

She jumped. "Well, I was thinking…" The young woman scuffed her toe on the floor, making a dark mark on her white shoe. "You…your skin is terribly sensitive right now, isn't it?"

He nodded. "It's getting easier to bear, but I'm going to be sore for a while, I think."

"I hope I haven't been hurting you, touching you so much--I've been trying to be gentle."

He shrugged. "It's not that bad."

"Oh." Amelia frowned unhappily, feeling a twinge of guilt. _I bet he's just saying that. He's not the type of man who complains about pain._ She sighed regretfully. "Then…I guess we'd better not."

"Huh? Amelia, what are you talking about?"

Her face grew hot, and her voice was barely a murmur. "M-making love."

The young man who was Zelgadis practically fell over in shock, dropping the bundle of clothes he carried. "Wh-what? _Now?" _he squawked, glancing around the little room, his eyes huge in his small face.

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**Author's Notes:**

**butzko** **comments: **Wish I had season 3, but here in Germany I'm still waiting for the Dvds to appear in the trade (I think I expressed this a little weird, English is easier to read than to write), but I'm hoping for a quick release (I'm soo curious which shape this mysterious mountain has!)

**DS--**Wow, you're from Germany? Your English is excellent--I'd never have guessed. I have relatives in Germany. My grandfather's parents migrated from Germany and Austria around 1900.

**--** As for the shape of the mountain--most people's first impression is of a soft-serve ice-cream cone. One of the swirly, twisty ones. In fact I would probably never have made the connection that it looked like anything else, except for what Amelia says in Try--both in the English language track and the Japanese one. She says, "It looks like a pile of--" and the others cut her off and act as if she had said something really rude. She never finishes the sentence, but I'm almost positive she was about to say 'dog poop'. -

**DS-- **I'm so pleased to hear that people in other countries are reading my fic! I would love to hear if there are any more--please feel free to say 'hi' and tell me which country you're from! I'm especially interested to hear if there are any people from Italy, England, Scotland, Germany, Austria, and Ireland, because I have links to all of them through my grandparents. I keep meaning to look up my relatives--I must have a lot of them by now, all great-aunts and -uncles and tons of second-and-third-cousins…

**Senritsu points out: **As I'm reading, I found two details that have been mentionned before, but that the character seems to have forgotten. First, I thing Zel already said he wanted to be a minstrel to Amelia, when they were alone and she was riding a horse (sorry, I don't remember which chapter). Second, Amelia knows about Kerrin's cousin Li.

**DS--** Good memory! You're right; it's in chapter 58. I'm always looking back at earlier chapters--I re-read my fic all the time, usually just before going to bed (I have it printed out on paper) so I can go back to those earlier days when Zel and Amelia were so cute and shy and blushed all the time…

**--** Actually, I deliberately let Amelia forget about how Zel said he wanted to be a minstrel. I figured that she would have forgotten all about it because of the terrible fight Zelgadis started right after that. Plus, at the time she wasn't really interested in talking about music--she was trying to awaken the feeling of closeness between them because he'd been acting so cold toward her (this was right after he'd overheard Amelia telling Kembri that she had a 'cute fiance'). As soon as he mentioned wanting to be a minstrel, Amelia could tell he was upset at having his dream thwarted, so she changed the subject in a hurry, and thus, forgot all about it.

**--** And as for the second thing you noticed, about Amelia knowing about 'Li'--yes, she knew Kerrin had a cousin named Li, but because I was very careful not to mention last names, she never made the connection between Zelgadis and Li. And I also had Kerrin only mention Li once, in a very offhand, casual sort of way, so as not to make Amelia become interested in finding out any more information about Li. Thus, except for a vague memory of a conversation she'd had with Kerrin about some relative of his whose name she didn't really remember, Amelia had indeed all but forgotten about Li. I try to have my characters think the way real people do.

In fact, the only reason I had Kerrin mention Li at all--I had to go back and put it in later, when I was working on a much later chapter--is for 'foreshadowing'. The writing technique where you have your characters learn a little something about a subject that will become very important to the story later. See, if I had made Kerrin walk into the room and go, "My long-lost cousin, Li!" the audience would go, "Oh, THAT'S convenient. Suddenly they're cousins now!" Foreshadowing makes your facts more believable for the audience. After all, in real life, if you trip over a rock, it didn't just appear out of nowhere, right? It must have been there all along; you just didn't pay much attention to it.

Actually, the main reason that I had Zel and Kerrin be cousins was so that I would have a believable reason for why Kerrin looked so much like Zel. All I knew at that point was that I wanted Amelia to have a fiance. It wasn't logical for her father to let her go traveling right before her wedding without some kind of 'insurance policy' that she would definitely have someone to marry when she came back. Also, I needed something else as a source of angst further down the road--something to cause Zelgadis' big fight later that would alienate him from the others--but I was sick of the stereotypical 'bad guy fiance', whose goal was to gain power and rule the kingdom. So I made Kerrin sweet and kind and generous, sort of a male Card Captor Sakura. Kawaii! I developed the whole family background later. I couldn't do anything too horrible to him, though, 'cause he turned out to be so cute. -


	90. Chapter 90: Tailor Woes, , Feel the Wind

Only Stone on the Outside

a Slayers fanfic

by Dreamsinger

**2003**

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. **13+ **

Edon--pronounced EE-donn

**Chapter Ninety: Tailor Woes / Feel the Wind**

Amelia sighed regretfully. "Then…I guess we'd better not."

"What are you talking about?"

Her face grew hot, and her voice was barely a murmur. "M-making love."

The young man who was Zelgadis practically fell over in shock, dropping the bundle of clothes he carried. "Wh-what? _Now?" _he squawked, glancing around the little supply room, his eyes huge in his small face.

Despite her disappointment, Amelia couldn't help laughing at him, covering her mouth with her hand. "No, no…I meant tonight, silly."

As he assimilated this, his expression changed from alarmed to annoyed. She tried to hold in her laughter, but it came spilling out of her, relieving her guilt. Zelgadis was trying to look stern, but she could see a smile beginning to show. She tried to speak, couldn't yet, and waved her hands helplessly. Finally he crossed his arms, waiting with an indulgent expression, one dark blue eyebrow raised. Shiran looked from one to the other, her green eyes glowing eerily in the dark room.

"I'm sorry," the young woman giggled. "It's just--I don't think I've ever seen you look so--so--_panicky. _Your mouth was hanging open and everything…" She struggled to get a hold of herself.

"Well, I'm glad I was able to amuse you, but if you don't mind, would you please tell me what brought up that particular topic of conversation?" Amelia could hear equal amounts of amusement and irritated curiosity in his tone.

Suddenly her laughter faded, and she looked up at him with troubled eyes. "Well, it's… It's not fair for me to expect you to…well, that is…" She took a deep breath, hesitated, then blurted, "I don't want our first time making love to be painful for you!"

Shock covered his face. Recklessly, she rushed on, "And yet, I want to do it with you, I want to so badly, and it makes me feel so guilty--what kind of person would expect such a thing, it's not _just, _it's--"

Amelia found herself kissing Zelgadis, his mouth firmly covering hers, quieting her hysteria. There was nothing hesitant about his manner, nothing that said he was feeling much pain, only the same desire that she herself was struggling with. After a moment she noticed that he was holding her close to him, and she relaxed, resting her hands against his chest, feeling his firm muscles and the warmth of his skin through his tunic.

It was still a new experience for her, despite his having held her earlier that morning. She kept expecting to feel hard stone and prickly wire hair; when she pulled in a breath she realized that she was searching for the smell of sun-warmed stone with a metallic tang. Instead he smelled of warm skin, much like other men; in fact, it reminded her of being hugged by her father.

Suddenly she felt better. The same reassuring feelings of being loved and protected were there, and yet Zelgadis, so much smaller than her bear of a father, had special qualities all his own. She had never felt like this while hugging her father--or anyone else.

When Zelgadis lifted his head, he gave her his rare, sweet smile. "I love you."

She looked at him with wide eyes. _It still takes me by surprise every time he says that._

"And I appreciate your trying to spare me pain, but it's not necessary. I'll be fine."

"Oh, but--"

"Amelia." He looked so serious in the dim gray light--so much like the old Zelgadis that she had to swallow the lump in her throat. He was silent for a few moments, then said quietly, "What you said, about the pain of the first time--that's what men usually say to women."

For some reason, she blushed. She didn't know how to respond, but he continued, "And I know what most women say--that it's worth a little pain."

"Oh, but you--"

"What about _you?"_

"I--" She stopped, stymied. _I hadn't even thought about myself, to be honest. Zelgadis' well-being has been the most important thing to me for so long… _She shook her head dismissively. "Well, some girls don't have any problems, especially physically active ones like me. And if I should get…hurt, I can heal it in moments. So it's not a big deal. It's not like--hey, do you think a healing spell could help _you?"_

He frowned thoughtfully. "I don't think so--I'm not injured anywhere; my skin is just hypersensitive right now." He must have been able to read her disappointment in the dim light. "But if you want to try, go ahead."

Amelia nodded gladly, and held up a hand, calling forth her best healing spell. Slowly she bathed the slender young man all over in white light, resisting the urge to touch him, while he stood with his eyes closed. Finally she let the spell fade from her hand, and he opened his eyes and smiled.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Better--I think. It's hard to tell. I can still feel everything very strongly, but it doesn't bother me quite so much." He looked down at himself. "I think these clothes were chafing me…"

Amelia felt a surge of gladness. "Well, _that's_ something we can do something about!" She laughed. "We'll just ask the tailors to let you borrow something soft to wear until your real clothes are done." _And I know just the type of clothes I want him to try on…I think I had a dream about it once._

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"Hey! Quit sticking me there or I'm gonna--"

"Miss Lina!" Amelia reprimanded as she, Zelgadis, and Shiran entered the tailors' workshop.

"Oh, hi, guys. Listen, Amelia, you want to tell these people I'm not a pincushion?"

"They can't help it, Miss Lina…" Amelia said consolingly as Zelgadis looked around the large room. It looked like a typical tailor's shop, with bolts of cloth on one wall, sections of thread and lace and all the trimmings women wore on their clothes, plus chairs and platforms for people to stand on, and of course, tailors, at least six of them, mostly middle-aged women. Two were pinning Lina into a beautiful white wedding dress. Her red hair was bound up on top of her head, presumably to keep it out of the way. Amelia added, "All tailors stick people, Miss Lina; you know that."

A tall, thin man with a small black goatee approached the couple. He wore a bright purple suit with silver trim and a high collar that made him look even taller than he already was. Shiran blocked his way, and he stepped back a pace, swallowing nervously as her glowing green eyes stared up at him. "Princess Amelia, what brings you here? Didn't you get married last night?"

"Yes, Mister Edon. This is my new husband, Zelgadis, of the Greywyrs clan." She gestured toward him, and Zelgadis gave what had become his customary half-bow. All of the assistant tailors bowed back. "Zelgadis, this is Mister Edon, our head tailor."

Instead of greeting him, Edon made a little frown and began walking around the former chimera, looking his body up and down. The other tailors and Lina stopped what they were doing to watch. "This can't be him."

"What?" Amelia and Zelgadis spoke together.

"The man you described was much taller. I designed the suit--_this_ suit--to be--" Suddenly he snatched the bundle of clothes from Zelgadis, who winced as one of the white shoes fell out and landed on his boot. "Do you _know_ how much work went into that?" the tailor exclaimed, trying to smooth out some of the wrinkles.

"I, uh, I guess I estimated his size wrong after all," Amelia said quickly.

"Obviously," the man said sullenly. "He must have looked a sight! What will people think of my work now?"

"Oh, no, he was the handsomest man there!" Amelia protested. "Ask Miss Lina. She was there."

Everyone looked at the petite sorceress, whose hands came up reflexively to cover the low neckline over her small bosom, a pink blush appearing over her nose. "Yeah, he was great looking…now, can we please finish here? I'm freezing!" Indeed, her bare arms were covered in goosebumps.

Edon looked somewhat mollified. Amelia said, "Anyway, Mister Edon, could one of you please alter Zelgadis' suit so he can attend Miss Lina's wedding? It shouldn't take long."

Soon Zelgadis found himself standing on one of the platforms. "We might as well get all your measurements while you're here," Edon explained.

When he removed his boots, everyone exclaimed over his sore, reddened feet. His old gray boots were very rough inside after being gouged so much by the stones on his feet, and without socks his tender skin had had no protection whatever. Amelia was especially horrified. "Zelgadis, why didn't you _say_ something?" She was on her knees, running a white-glowing hand over his feet.

He shrugged. "I wasn't planning on wearing these boots for much longer, anyway."

Edon turned out to be unusually sympathetic to Zelgadis' plight. "Sensitive skin? I was born with that condition myself. It's one of the reasons I became a tailor. You'll notice that all of my clothes are designed with both style _and_ comfort in mind."

Amelia turned to him with huge, pleading blue eyes. "Do you have something Mister Zelgadis can borrow until he gets some new clothes made? Something soft?"

Edon smiled in a fatherly way at the young woman. "Of course, Princess."

_As usual, when Amelia looks at you like that, you can't say no, _Zelgadis thought, amused. _I sympathize with the man._

Zelgadis continued removing his clothes, feeling incredibly awkward and exposed in front of everyone. _Thank goodness Andon provided underwear with my suit--mine got ruined back at Momoko's inn. I had to throw it out. _

He traded looks of shared misery with the red-haired sorceress as every inch of him was measured by two of the middle-aged women. _Lina was right. It's damned cold in here! That's one feeling I didn't miss as a chimera. _He shivered, watching goosebumps appear on his arms and legs. _I feel like a fool, standing here in my underwear in front of the girls. _

He caught sight of Amelia, standing off in a corner with Shiran out of the tailors' way as they bustled here and there, and instantly forgot the chill. His princess was gazing raptly at his bare torso, and he blushed, wondering if she could see his gooseflesh. He stood straighter, fighting his old wish to be physically impressive, and reminded himself that she found him attractive not necessarily because he was, but because she loved him. _Face it, I could be as ugly as an ogre and she'd still think I was handsome. _The thought made him smile.

"That's the spirit," one of the older women said cheerfully. "Keep smiling. It won't be much longer."

"Such an elegant frame," Edon said, appearing suddenly out of nowhere. "I'm going to enjoy designing your clothes. Such long legs for someone of your height."

"Nothing too flashy, Mister Edon," Amelia called from the corner.

Edon raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure? You want him to be noticed, don't you? He _is_ Seyrune's new prince."

"I'm sure," she said firmly. "He's a serious, reliable person by nature. I was thinking of clothes that show--well, elegance, as you said."

"Very well, Princess," the man sighed.

When they were done measuring him, they made him don the wedding suit--shoes included--so they could alter it. Zelgadis clenched his fists--and his teeth--to keep from shoving everyone away from him, as they seemed bound and determined to test his pain tolerance with what seemed like a hundred sharp needles.

Then Edon appeared, carrying an assortment of clothing. "Let's see…"

The next hour was spent with Zelgadis trying on various outfits, some wild and strange, some ordinary, and some that managed to achieve the 'elegance' that everyone agreed would look best on him. The others were quite enthusiastic on the subject, but Zelgadis soon tired of being the object of everyone's attention.

Eventually Zelgadis was outfitted in a stylish white suit with dark blue trim, one of Edon's, in fact, with the pant cuffs and sleeves swiftly hemmed to the perfect length. The cloth was indeed soft, the inner seams concealed behind flaps of cloth so that they did not rub his skin, and the collar and lapels were made of a lighter material that did not drag on his neck or irritate his skin. He could not hold back a sigh of relief. _I hadn't realized how uncomfortable I was._

"If you decide you like it, you can keep it," Edon said. "It's a little too dull for my tastes. Just bring it back tomorrow and let me know. We can do alterations to fit your exact proportions."

"Thank you." Zelgadis was a little surprised at the man's generosity, even if he was a tailor and probably had a hundred more outfits besides this one. Then he shrugged. _He's giving the gift to the new Prince, not really to me, Zelgadis. I just hope he doesn't think I'm accepting a bribe or something. _

Still, when he looked at himself in the mirror, he was pleased at the image that smiled back.

Edon also provided him with a pair of special socks with practically invisible seams. "I can give you the name of the woman who makes these for me, and the one for the man who makes my shoes. I haven't had a blister in years."

Again, Zelgadis thanked the man, although he hoped he wouldn't have need such information. "I'd like to keep my old clothes. There's a lot of important memories tied to them," he added, smiling as he watched Amelia's face light up. "Have them cleaned and sent to--" Zelgadis hesitated. _I don't actually have a room here yet, do I? _He turned to Amelia with a questioning expression.

She caught on immediately. "Send them to my room. We haven't chosen new quarters yet."

"Yes, Princess Amelia."

Zelgadis was a bit startled to hear her speak of them sharing a room so casually. _That's right… Tonight we'll be sharing a bedroom…a bed… _He felt himself start to drift off, and shook his head to derail that train of thought. _Not yet. _

Then Zelgadis, Amelia, Shiran and Lina (who was back in her usual red outfit) took their leave. "How are your feet, Zelgadis?" Amelia asked anxiously as soon as the door closed behind them.

"The socks help," he said shortly, suppressing a surge of annoyance. _I've only gone five steps. I'm not _that _fragile. _

"You look like you need a break, Zel," Lina commented. "Me, too. Why don't we get something to eat?"

Zelgadis gave her a grateful look. _I'm not hungry, but I _am _feeling a little overwhelmed._

"Why don't we go out and have a snack in the south rose garden?" Amelia suggested.

Something about that name sounded familiar to Zelgadis. "Isn't that where-"

"Where we got married," Amelia said, giving him a loving look. "I want you to see the flowerstone mosaic in the daylight. It's really beautiful."

Zelgadis recalled the marvelous mosaic he had seen last night, made of hundreds of semiprecious gemstones. "I'm sure it is," he agreed warmly, meeting her eyes.

Lina cleared her throat. "I'm going to go look for Gourry. Why don't you two get some food and meet us there?"

Both of them blinked, having forgotten Lina was there. "Okay, Miss Lina," Amelia agreed, taking Zelgadis' hand and leading him down the corridor toward the kitchens. He followed willingly.

By the time they were finished dealing with the kitchen staff and what seemed like a dozen other curious palace workers who all wanted to meet Zelgadis, the former chimera was ready to Rei Wing himself off to the outer world to get away from everyone. He had never been very sociable, even as a youngster, and having to deal with so many strangers all at once was making him incredibly irritable.

Shiran seemed to feel the same way, although she might have simply been picking up his own emotions. The huge dragonwolf was acting restless, moving in quick, tense bursts, keeping herself between her bonded ones and anyone who approached them. The dark purple fur on the back of her long, elegant neck was raised halfway, and her eyes were glowing more than usual.

"She's not used to being around so many people," Amelia guessed. "Well, she'll calm down once we get outside."

Each of them carried a tray piled high with goodies, plates, cups, cutlery, and a small pitcher of tea. Zelgadis followed Amelia to a wooden door he recognized--the one he had used the previous night to get to the garden. Amelia set her tray down on a small hallway table, then opened the door to the outside. Shiran dashed through it immediately and began sniffing through the grass at the side of the path.

The moment Zelgadis stepped outside was one he would remember for the rest of his life. A shaft of brilliant sunlight blinded him, and he blinked, trying not to drop the tray as he realized that he could actually _feel_ the sun's heat on his face. He turned his face from side to side, marveling that he could tell where the sun was even with his eyes closed. _It reminds me of that dream I have, of Amelia enfolding me in her warmth, her bright, loving light…_

He didn't want to move, even though the tray was beginning to get heavy. Then he heard Amelia coming up behind him, and stepped forward. Slowly he walked a few paces into the courtyard, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the light. The air smelled of autumn, cool and crisp and clean, and his sharp hearing picked out the sounds of footsteps on gravel, and farther off someone else whistling as they raked leaves. Songbirds sang sweetly, their chirping as pretty and delicate as a music box.

Off to his right a gust of wind shhhh'ed, and then he froze, his eyes wide, as the same wind he'd heard approaching passed over him, ruffling his clothes and hair. Amelia passed him and stopped. "What's wrong?"

The former chimera closed his eyes to savor the feeling. "Nothing," he said, his tone one of quiet wonder. "I feel…I feel the wind." He tilted his head back, taking deep breaths of the fresh air, as if it would all be gone in a moment. _I'm really part of the world again…finally…not an outsider anymore._ Zelgadis' soft hair caressed his forehead and tickled his ears. His skin tingled and sang, revitalizing him.

His hands tightened on the hard metal handles of the tray. _I want to drop this and run, to throw myself into the wind and fly up to those bright, shining white clouds, to be one with that brilliant blue sky…_

"I know," Amelia said, and he could hear the smile in her tone.

His eyes popped open. _Did she hear my thoughts? We're both still wearing the Star Spheres…_

His blue-eyed princess gave him a dazzling smile. "I _love_ autumn. It's my favorite season. The trees are like rainbows, the air feels so light and free, and I have so much energy!" She laughed out loud, sharing her joy with him. Shiran looked up from her busy exploration to wag her tail, looking much happier as well.

"More energy than usual?" he teased, suddenly in a good mood again.

Amelia only laughed again, her happiness spreading out from her like the sunlight, bathing everyone nearby. Zelgadis found himself smiling at her, and marveled at how easily she could influence his moods. _Thank the gods for the joy she's brought into my life. _He knew very well how fleeting, how precious happiness could be, and vowed to never take her for granted.

Amelia gazed at her beloved Zelgadis. _He's so handsome, with his dark blue hair shining in the sun. It goes so beautifully with his white suit… And he looks so happy! At peace. How I've longed to see that look on his face… _The wind flowed past them again, and she joined Zelgadis in taking a deep breath, feeling both soothed and enlivened by the brisk wind and the warm sunshine. "What a beautiful day," she said, and Zelgadis nodded.

The former chimera followed his love across the wide, green lawns toward the high hedge wall, with Shiran loping gracefully alongside. Occasionally the great lavender beast would disappear for a few seconds to investigate something, but she soon reappeared with a happy look in her eyes.

In the sunlight the gemstone mosaic was even more breathtaking, a rainbow of rich, vibrant colors. The great, glorious flower garden sparkled and shone and glittered and gleamed, drawing the eye with lovely shades of red and green, purple and gold, pink and blue, surrounded by lustrous white marble. Zelgadis smiled as he spotted those flowers that he had come to imagine symbolized his friends, his gaze lingering fondly on Amelia's tourmaline rose in the center of the large mosaic.

The two of them set their trays down on a large white marble table at the other end of the hedge-enclosed area. Half of the table was in the shade from the hedge, and there were six fancy white-painted metal chairs to choose from. Zelgadis felt himself relaxing even more, enjoying the peace and quiet in this beautiful sunny garden, alone with his loved ones.

"Don't stay out in the sun too long at first, Zel, or you'll get a bad sunburn," Lina said as she entered through the break in the hedge. Gourry followed her.

Zelgadis frowned, his good mood broken, resenting even the presence of his friends right now.

"Oh, I didn't think of that," Amelia said. "She's right; you should stay in the shade while we're out here, okay, Zelgadis?"

He nodded, fighting the urge to snap at her. _Somehow our situations have become reversed. When did Lina become my mother? Amelia, too._

They sat down to eat some of the leftover pastries from yesterday's wedding, and Amelia poured tea into dainty little ceramic cups from a matching pitcher, which was white with green leafy vines twining gracefully around it.

"Be careful now, Zelgadis. This is hot," Amelia said in a tone one usually takes when talking to a toddler.

Anger seized him. "_Stop _that!" He slammed his hand down onto his empty plate, spilling his tea and startling everyone with the clatter. _Ow, damn it! _For a moment he was even more furious, but then it hit him how easily he was losing his control--the control he'd been so proud of--and the shock of that realization was as sharp as the pain in his hand.

Humans and dragonwolf stared at him in astonishment. After a moment Gourry asked, "What's wrong, Zelgadis?"

He was silent, fuming.

Amelia took a step toward him, distress in her sapphire eyes. "Zelgadis?"

"Stop treating me like a child." As soon as the words were out of his mouth he realized how he sounded--like a sulky teenager--and also, that he had had a conversation very similar to this with Amelia during their stay at Momoko's inn. _Now I know how she felt, _he admitted reluctantly to himself.

He tried again, this time attempting to sound reasonable. "You're both doing it. It's getting annoying. I've been a human before, you know."

"Zelgadis, I'm sor-" Amelia began, but Lina interrupted her.

"We're only trying to help." The petite sorceress sounded irritated. "You've had four years away from being a human. It stands to reason that you'd forget a lot."

The sharp words came out before he could stop them. "If I want your advice, I'll ask for it!"

He was aware of a flash of red, then suddenly he was choking. For a moment his arms thrashed uselessly in the air and then he realized that Lina had grabbed him in one of her nasty headlocks. _Damn it, she caught me off guard. _He had never taken much notice before, since the one time she had tried it on him, he had simply ignored her, standing up and walking around with her hanging down his back like a baby koala.

A fierce, throbbing growl from behind them made both Zelgadis and his attacker freeze, moving only their eyes to see Shiran standing in full attack posture, her lavender mane fanning out, white teeth bared, eyes glowing fiercely. Zelgadis heard Lina chuckle weakly. "I forgot about her."

Her arms loosened, and he sucked in a deep breath of air. "Lina, get off."

"S-sure." She let him go, backing slowly away from his chair. He pointed at the chair she'd vacated, and said, as if to a dog, "Sit."

Slowly, eyeing Shiran, she did. Zelgadis rubbed his soft human throat, coughed a bit, and ordered Shiran to 'remain'. The huge beast gave the red-haired sorceress one last growl and went to sit between her bonded ones and Lina, whom she obviously considered the 'unpredictable' member of her flock.

Gourry stopped looking tense and frowned at his fiance. "Lina, what did we talk about this morning?" he scolded.

This was so unlike his normal behavior that both Amelia and Zelgadis blinked in astonishment. They were even more surprised when Lina said meekly, "Sorry."

"I don't think this situation calls for violence, Lina, do you?" he went on.

"…No," she said in a small voice, staring down at the table. She looked like a little girl being lectured by her father.

"Good!" said the tall swordsman, regaining his normal cheer. Lina apparently heard the forgiveness in his voice and looked up to meet his gaze. Her face broke into a grateful smile.

_What _happened _between them?_ both Zelgadis and Amelia thought in wonder. _Since when does Gourry have such influence over her?_

Lina surprised them even more when she turned to them and bowed a little. "Sorry, guys. I've been trying to clean up my act a little. There's no need for me to treat my friends the same way I do bandits, right? Besides…" She looked away sheepishly. "Gourry doesn't like it. He says I'm not being responsible."

"But you've never cared about--" Amelia began.

Zelgadis hastily interrupted her. "Well, we're glad to hear it, aren't we, Amelia? And we accept your apology." _I'm going to give Gourry all the support I can. Now that Lina's discovered she doesn't like having him disappointed in her, she'll probably be a little easier to deal with. _

Everyone was quiet for a while, focusing on their food. Zelgadis discovered that his lips were too sensitive to sip his tea until it had cooled off a little.

Eventually the silence was broken by the delicate chirp of a songbird somewhere nearby. Zelgadis glanced around, noticed again what a beautiful day it was, and realized his anger was gone, lost somewhere in serenity. Shiran rested on the soft grass at his feet. Amelia brushed several windblown strands of soft dark hair behind one ear, a cute smudge of white frosting on her cheek. Lina and Gourry were relaxing lazily in their chairs, wearing matching satisfied expressions, having finished off the last of the pastries.

_They didn't deserve what I said. And if Lina Inverse has changed enough to start acknowledging people's feelings, then I can do no less. _"Listen, Lina, Amelia…" He put his sore hand behind his head, grimacing a little to show his shame, "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm just feeling really--overwhelmed--by everything."

"Who wouldn't be?" Lina tossed her red-gold hair, surprising him once again with the ease of her forgiveness. _And I thought only Amelia was growing up._

"And _I'm_ sorry for treating you like a kid," Amelia said. "I should know better. I know _I_ always hate it when people do that to me."

He gave her a wry smile, sharing the memory of their stay at Momoko's inn. She winked at him.

"And I'm sorry too," Gourry said unexpectedly, and they all stared at him.

"What do _you_ have to be sorry about?" Lina asked.

"Um…ah… Nothing, I guess. I just didn't want to be left out," Gourry explained, and they all laughed.

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**Author's Notes: **

**DS--**As you probably guessed, I modeled Zelgadis' skin sensitivity after my own. Of course, it doesn't hurt when I touch things, but I hate clothes shopping because there's a lot of things I just can't wear. And as for shoes--geh! I haven't been able to find shoes that fit and don't hurt for three years. Frankly, I'm getting desperate.

**Mistress DragonFlame comments: **I'm amazed at the fact that your skill of writing didn't seem to change from when you first started, just under 3 years ago.

--And whatever happened with Xellos when he looked at Amelia and Zelgadis way back when, right before Lina's excape? I mean, you kinda hinted towards that he noticed something.

I didn't start putting up chapters until I had about 40 written, and the whole time I was continually revising, so yes, my fic has changed from what it was originally. For the better, I hope--but actually, I need to study writing. Every now and then I read an article that lists common mistakes amateur writers make--and I realize I've made some. It's a little embarrassing. You might say I'm a very talented amateur whose work needs a final polish.

--I'm not sure what you mean about Xellos. If I wrote something you're confused about I'd be happy to clarify--exactly which scene? Which chapter?

ATTENTION FILIA FANS: Remember when Amelia mentioned she sent the golden dragon an invitation….? Hint, hint.

**DS--**I thought some of you might like to know which manga I collect, if you're looking for recommendations. There's only about ten series I really enjoy--I prefer anime to manga. Manga doesn't have music, or color, so sometimes it's hard to tell the characters apart.

Nearly all of my manga is shoujo (for girls/women), like D.N. Angel, Fruits Basket--volumes 8 and up, which tell what happened _after_ the anime ended, Card Captor Sakura volumes 3-6 of the _second_ season books, WISH, by CLAMP, (it's such a special 4-book series that I really wonder why they haven't made it into an anime), and Please Save My Earth volumes 8 and up, (again, after the anime).

I'm also getting into From Far Away, which has a main character who reminds me so much of Zelgadis, both in looks and in personality. And the fact that he's cursed, and has a cute young girl who loves him, which brings out his protective side. It takes about five books before you start getting to the love confessions, though. I have 6,7 and 8 so far.

I'd also like to recommend a fairly new series that has beautiful art and a sweet, tender, sometimes funny storyline, MeruPuri by Matsuri Hino. So far it's cute and innocent, despite the fact the main characters are a teenage girl and a 7-year old boy prince from a magic kingdom who loves her--a boy who transforms into a gorgeous teenage version of himself due to a curse put on him by his evil older brother. The main girl character has to kiss him to change him back to his child-form, and although she loves the young boy like a little brother, she can't help being drawn to the incredibly alluring older version, who proves time and again that he loves her wholeheartedly by choosing her over the various things that happen to separate them.

The whole innocent-yet-sexy aspect is what really makes this series so intriguing. When the older version of the boy prince lays together with her on a bed, for example, he's just cuddling. He has no idea that there's anything more to loving somebody--but the girl sure does, and it's fun watching her blush! -

The other series that I'd like to recommend are all shonen-ai (two boys in love) or yaoi (two men making love), so people who don't like that sort of thing--don't go out and buy them and then get upset with me. My absolute favorite is, of course, FAKE by Sanami Matoh, volumes 1-7, about two New York cops. One likes the other from the first day they meet, and he's not embarrassed about showing it, but not really in an offensive way, which I like. There's a lot of great humor and gripping drama, with actual storylines, and a gradual building of real caring between the two men, with only two sex scenes in the last book. The rest of the series is about stealing kisses, and the second cop trying to decide just how much he cares about his partner. There's a lot of character development, which means you actually care about these people. The one thing I don't like is some of the character designs--some of the women look too much like men. And there are a few gory scenes, if that bothers anyone. Oh, and they made an OAV anime which basically covers the plot from volume 2, so _before_ you buy or rent it, read number 1 or you won't like the DVD as much.

A close second is Eerie Queerie, volumes 1-4, which, despite its offensive title, (It's called Ghost in the original Japanese manga, which I like a heck of a lot better), throws all my favorite bits into the soup. You have your quiet, gentle, delicate-looking boy lead character, your handsome, smart, sexy guy who decides pretty early in the series that there's something special about his new friend (besides the fact that he keeps getting possessed by ghosts and ends up having to help them accomplish what they need to in order to 'move on'), your wise-yet-lecherous monk, your other gorgeous boy character who _also_ falls in love with the oblivious lead character, and several humorous minor characters who liven things up. It's really more of a comedy than anything else, with nothing more graphic than hugs and kisses, and I would _really_ love to see this made into an anime. I like the end, where they don't leave you hanging--there are some love confessions and a decent conclusion, even though it seems like the author rushed it a bit.

My last choice for shonen ai is Hands Off! by Kasane Kasumoto. It's darker and grimmer than I usually like, sort of a teen drama, but the whole 'teenage boy gives or enhances mental powers when he touches people' thing is intriguing, a good mystery. The lead is a small, cute, fairly innocent young boy who has no idea what's going on, and the one who loves him is his cold, sullen cousin. They were very close as little boys--that's how the cousin got his special power. A type of clairvoyance--he sees things that happened in the past, and since they're usually horrible things like murders and suicides, he tries to hate his cousin for cursing him with such a power, but there's a strong bond underneath that comes out when the boy is in danger. Of course, the innocent boy manages to get himself in life-threatening danger on a regular basis. There's also a girl-chasing best friend who can see auras. The love between these cousins is not sexual, though, and so far only volumes 1, 3, and 5 have good storylines, so you might want to read them in the bookstore before you buy.

There's a small amount of boy-love in D. N. Angel as well, nothing sexual, but makes for great humor when one of the boys teases the other in class about just _how_ close they are, especially after he rescues his friend from drowning. 'Kiss of life'…


	91. Chapter91:Musical Tea Party,Kerrin'sGift

Only Stone on the Outside

a Slayers fanfic

by Dreamsinger

**2003**

I do not own this terrific series; I just wish I did.. Please let me know if you'd like to print or archive my story, though, just 'cause I like to know people are interested. **K+**

**Chapter Ninety-One: Musical Tea Party / Kerrin's Gift**

The impromptu tea party seemed to relax everyone. The four friends were soon laughing and joking as always, finding comfort in familiarity. Gourry looked around the white marble table at the smiling faces of his friends. _Everything's changing, for all of us. Zelgadis and Amelia are married, and Lina and I are going to be. Lina's finally growing up, and-- _

"Let me get that for you, Amelia," Zelgadis said, reaching for the young girl's face with a green cloth napkin. He rubbed it against the little spot of white frosting that Gourry had noticed on the girl's cheek, which the blonde swordsman had politely pretended not to notice.

A pink blush appeared over the girl's nose, and they all chuckled. Gourry glanced at the young man next to him, glad to see him smiling. … _And Zelgadis has learned how to laugh._

"Thank you," Amelia said in an embarrassed tone.

"Just returning the favor," Zelgadis said warmly. "Do you remember just before I left to board the ship?"

Amelia nodded, her eyes unfocused as if she was reliving the memory. Curious, Gourry tried to recall the last time they had been here--and a vague memory of a tense scene between his two friends surfaced. _I think she said something that got his attention. Even Lina stopped to listen. Can't remember what, but… _He looked back and forth between his two friends, and grinned. _It must've have something to do with romance. Look at the lovey-dovey looks on their faces! _

He leaned back, humming quietly to himself, fully enjoying the chance to relax after the frantic haste they'd been in to get here. _Anyway, a lot has changed over the last few months. We have new friends, like Shiran, and Zelgadis' little brother--or is it his cousin? Oh, yeah, and Zelgadis isn't a chimera anymore, and he's going to help Amelia rule Seyrune when Phil gets too old. _Like Amelia, he had never particularly cared what type of skin his friend had, although Lina had said something about other people not liking it, for some reason.

Lina glanced at her fiance. "What are you singing, Gourry?"

Only then did he realize that he had begun to sing softly. "I don't know. Something happy, I guess. Not real words, just sort of a la-la-la thing."

"It's nice," Amelia said, smiling at him.

"Yeah," Lina agreed.

"Thanks."

Then the petite sorceress glanced at Zelgadis. "Hey, Zel, weren't you going to teach Gourry some songs?" A band of pink appeared over her nose as she looked at the blonde swordsman. "Not that I don't like what you sing now, but, you know…"

"It's always fun to learn new songs." Amelia piped up, and Lina gave her a grateful look. "I love to sing," the midnight-haired princess added. "Would you mind teaching me, too?"

The young man who was Zelgadis looked at the girls, then turned his attention to Gourry, who shrugged. "I'm not much for learning stuff, but I don't mind."

Zelgadis agreed to give lessons to whomever wanted them, and their tea party turned into a private music lesson, with the former chimera teaching Amelia first, a gentle, slow-paced song that seemed to match the peaceful beauty of the world around them.

The first time Zelgadis sang it, the girls looked surprised. Gourry just smiled, watching the slim young man standing straight and proud, his warm, rich baritone a pleasure to hear. The long, clear notes were as smooth as butter, and even on higher notes his voice never broke, flowing easily, like water, and Gourry found himself looking at his friend in admiration. _I never knew he could sing like that._

The girls were both gazing at the blue-haired, elfin man with half-closed eyes, as if he had cast a spell on them. Amelia had her hands clasped together in front of her chest. Gourry imagined Lina looking at him that way, and suddenly wanted very much to learn to sing the way Zelgadis did.

The tall swordsman paid careful attention when Zelgadis began to instruct Amelia. He learned that one must stand properly, to let the air flow smoothly, and to let the lungs and muscles do the best job they can. He copied the stance Zelgadis showed Amelia, his spine straight, focusing on using his stomach muscles to help draw breath all the way down, bringing depth and resonance to his tone.

Then Zelgadis began on breathing exercises, which he told them to practice every day, and many other things that Gourry had never known, but that Zelgadis said were the basics every singer should know.

Even Lina was caught up in the action, standing beside Amelia with a look of concentration on her pretty face, her slender red brows drawn together. He noticed how standing properly made him notice her chest more, since she usually slouched a bit from the weight of her massive shoulder-guards. _I wonder what Lina would look like if she wore women's clothes. _His eye was drawn to the way Amelia's frilly white dress fluttered in the gentle breeze.

"That dress makes you look very pretty, Amelia," he said impulsively, suddenly curious to see what her legs looked like. She usually wore pants, like Lina. He took a step toward her, about to follow through on his half-thought-out whim, when suddenly he noticed that both Lina and Zelgadis were glaring at him. "What?"

The two of them looked, if anything, even more murderous. He broke out into a sweat, realizing that once again he had said something wrong, and was about to get pounded--or fireballed--for it.

"Thank you for the compliment, Mister Gourry!" Amelia said loudly. Her voice seemed to distract Zelgadis' attention from him long enough for the younger man to calm down a little.

Lina, on the other hand, was beginning to glow with a fierce red aura, and he felt his knees turn to jelly. She shouted, "What are you _doing, _looking at another man's wife with me standing right here?"

Desperate, Gourry used his last resort, throwing himself down on his face on the lawn, apologizing for all he was worth. "I'm sorry, Lina; I didn't mean it," he babbled, "I was just noticing how pretty you were and I was wondering if you'd look even prettier in a dress like Amelia's, and then--"

"_What?" _Abruptly she was looking at him in shock, the red aura fading.

"So _that's_ it," Amelia said, and both she and Zelgadis looked at each other in relief. Gourry glanced from one to the other in confusion, and Zelgadis looked down at him and crossed his arms. "For the record, Gourry, it's considered a insult for a man to make remarks about another man's wife. People might think you were interested in stealing her away from her husband."

Slowly Gourry stood up. "Oh. Yeah, I sort of knew that, but that was the last thing on my mind, you know? I mean, sure, Amelia's pretty, and nice, and a rich princess, and she's got a great body…," He didn't notice Lina clenching her fists behind him, her teeth bared. "…but I've got Lina, and she's as bright and sharp as--as a sword, you know? No other girl can compare to her."

That seemed to stun all of them. The wind whistled through, making all of their hair and clothes ripple, and somewhere in the hedge a cheerful songbird began a melody. Finally Lina, with a soft, tender look on her face, said, "Oh, Gourry," and everything was all right again.

Zelgadis went on with the lessons, teaching the first four lines of the soothing tune, which served to calm everyone down. Gourry was astonished to discover that he could memorize the words just as fast as the girls. _It must be the music! It helps me remember. _

What a wonderful discovery! He couldn't stop grinning at everyone. When at last Zelgadis called a halt, saying that it wasn't a good idea to strain their throat muscles since they weren't used to such hard work, Gourry was disappointed, but, being a swordsman, he understood about sore muscles. "Can we do some more tomorrow?" he asked eagerly.

His friends laughed. "Of course," Zelgadis said with a smile.

"I've never seen you so eager to study before." Lina came up and put her arm through his, smiling up at him.

"That's 'cause I've never been this good at studying before. This is _fun!" _he said enthusiastically, not minding when they all laughed again. "Hey, maybe someday I can be a minstrel. Without the Sword of Light there's not much need for me to be a swordsman, after all…"

Everyone was looking at him in surprise. "You don't want to be a swordsman, Mister Gourry?" Amelia asked.

"Oh, I don't mind it." He thought for a few seconds. "Then again, Lina gets into so much trouble--she needs me to protect her."

"Hey!"

"Why not do both, Gourry?" Zelgadis suggested. "Minstrels travel around the same way swordsmen do. There's no reason you couldn't do both."

Lina rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother. I can see it now. 'The Singing Swordsman.' " But the smile she gave him was indulgent.

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As his first day as a human progressed, things faded into a blur for Zelgadis. Three things, however, stood out. The first time he'd felt the wind was one of them.

The second memorable scene was when he and Amelia decided to check on Sunshine, to see how she was adjusting to her new stable. To their surprise, Kerrin and Prince Philionel were there, in front of the stall of Sunshine's neighbor, a handsome red sorrel stallion with a cream-colored mane and tail.

"Hello, daughter, son-in-law," The prince greeted them with his usual enthusiasm. He swooped down on Amelia and gave her his usual bear hug. Instinctively Zelgadis hastily backed off before the man decided to hug him, too. He went to Sunshine, who sniffed at him and let him stroke her nose. He wondered if she knew who he was, (not that it mattered with a horse this friendly,) and let himself enjoy the marvelously silky-soft skin under his fingers.

Kerrin smiled and greeted his cousin and Amelia, then said hello to Shiran, admiring her large yet graceful appearance. The red horse snorted suspiciously, but settled down once Shiran had sniffed noses with him. Then the lavender dragonwolf came over to Kerrin and nudged his hand. Obligingly, he stroked her head, idly trying to smooth down the sheaf of dark purple fur that stood up between her ears. _It reminds me of a horse's mane when the horse is in the middle of a leap, or maybe a dragon's neck-spikes. Not surprising, considering what she was bred from, but boy, did she turn out beautiful! And she seems to like me. I can't help but feel honored. _

From the depths of her father's chest Amelia's muffled voice rose. "Good morning, Daddy--or is it afternoon?" As her father set her on her feet, she said enthusiastically, "You got a new horse? He's _beautiful."_

"Actually…" Kerrin looked at her apologetically, running his hand through his red-brown hair, making it stand on end. "I brought him here for you. Your father said you didn't have a horse of your own…"

"Oh," Amelia said. "And now I have Sunshine. Well, why not give--"

"By the way, Amelia, where is Gallant?" her father interrupted.

The young girl froze. As Kerrin watched, her eyes filled with tears. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

Zelgadis stepped forward. "I'm sorry, Phil. He's dead."

"What?"

Amelia was silent while the former chimera explained how the valiant stallion had given his life to save Amelia's. Kerrin looked back and forth between each of them. _How awful! Poor Miss Amelia. I remember the horse she left with--he was magnificent. And now he's… _The young man bit his lip. "Miss Amelia, is there anything I can do?"

She gave him a sad smile. "I'll be all right. Thank you, Kerrin."

Prince Philionel looked terribly sad, but resigned. "Don't cry, Amelia. I'm sorry Gallant is gone, but I'm more glad that you are safe. And as for _you, _Shiran--" Suddenly he dropped to one knee in front of the large lavender beast, who stepped back warily, not looking nearly as large next to so big a man. Philionel held out a hand, palm up. "Thank you for keeping my daughter safe." The man's dark blue eyes were perfectly serious. "I hope that you will continue to do so."

For a long moment, Shiran looked up at the man with flickering green eyes, then took a step forward and put a paw on the hand Phil was extending to her. A soft whine was heard. "Oh, Daddy," Amelia whispered. "She's accepted you. I think she means to protect you, too, just like Miss Lina and Mister Gourry and Kerrin."

Zelgadis suddenly gave the princess a wry smile. "We're gathering quite a flock," he commented, and for some reason Amelia giggled.

"You mean she thinks of us as sheep?" asked Philionel as he stood up, his shaggy black eyebrows raised, and Amelia laughed again. Kerrin was glad to see her smiling. _I don't think any of us likes to see her sad._

"Oh, Daddy, while Miss Lina isn't around, I want to give you back Seyrune's crest." Amelia reached for the fuzzy pink pouch at her hip. "It really came in handy--that's how I paid for Sunshine." She rummaged through the pouch, pulling out a flat piece of bronzey metal engraved with the design of the house of Seyrune. She handed it to her father and then reached into the pouch again, pulling out a little blue stone statue and what looked like a metal arm-band.

"Remember this?" she said to Zelgadis, holding out the two-inch carving of a swordsman holding a rose over his heart. The stone was a beautiful shiny medium-dark blue with delicate white lines running through it. "I bought him because he reminded me of you."

His cousin looked embarrassed, but pleased. Kerrin smiled. _Girls can be so sweet. _

Prince Philionel leaned down to look at it. "Not bad work."

She handed the swordsman to her father. "Yes; I bought it from a man in Tollik, at a craft fair kiosk. That's also the town where we got Shiran, and Sunshine, too. We made some wonderful friends there."

"Tollik, you say?" Her father handed the statue back to her, and then she surprised Kerrin by offering it to him. "Thank you," he said, accepting it. _A knight in shining armor--that's how Miss Amelia thinks of Li. _He smiled fondly, noticing how smoothly it had been polished--no rough spots at all. _I wonder if the carver used magic? _He handed it back to Amelia, who put it back in her pouch.

Prince Philionel said, "I think I've heard of that town. Some kind of special cloth…"

Amelia explained about Tollik's rainbow sheep and Shiran's origin as the flock's original guardian. "That's where I was when I was attacked by the leapers that killed poor Gallant." She paused sadly, then straightened her shoulders. "But Miss Lina and Mister Gourry took care of them, so I don't think the people of Tollik are in any danger now."

"Oh, good," both Kerrin and Phil said together.

"Show him Ponmar's crest," Zelgadis suggested, nodding at the object she was holding.

"Oh, right." She handed the prince the golden arm-band, which had three beautiful dolphins leaping from the sea in a surge of plumes engraved on it. "Mister Ponmar said he wanted you to have this, as a token of his intent to pursue relations with Seyrune. It has the crest of his rulers on it."

Her father studied it. "I don't believe I've ever seen a crest quite like this. Where did you say he was from, this….Ponmar?"

"The outer world."

"What?"

It took Amelia and Zelgadis a while to explain, but eventually Prince Philionel was hugging Amelia again, full of praise for how she and Zelgadis had managed to open relations with one of the leaders of the outer world. _I guess no one has been successful up to now, _Kerrin realized.

Then he and Amelia both burst out laughing at the look of horror on the former chimera's face as the prince lunged at Zelgadis and seized him in a massive bear hug. "I _knew_ Amelia made the best choice! That's why I let her go look for you after you called for help. Good work, Zelgadis, my boy, good work!"

Kerrin could see from the shocked look on his cousin's face that he hadn't known about Amelia's ward bracelet lighting up in the middle of her last dance. _I'll tell you the story sometime, Li. _He grinned up at Zelgadis, who now wore a long-suffering expression, his arms and legs twitching feebly. _But right now I think I'd better rescue you! _

He stepped forward. "Sire, would _you_ like to have this horse? Miss Amelia already has Sunshine," he continued as the prince released Zelgadis and turned to face him. Kerrin added, "She's a very fine mare, by the way…"

Amelia smiled happily. The prince looked pleased as well, but before he could answer, Zelgadis took a few shaky steps toward the red stallion's stall. "Rin--if I'm not mistaken, this horse is…"

"Part of our family's stock, yes. The best bloodlines. I grew to be as fond of horses as you were, Li," Kerrin said with a grin. "I kept out of people's way out in the stable. I used to take my lessons out there and do them in the shade of an apple tree. I love fresh apples. So did the horses. See, the school I went to had some fine horses to train with."

"And you've become a superb rider. I've seen your skills, and I'm very impressed," Prince Philionel said enthusiastically. "You can accompany me on trips. I can always use a good guard."

Kerrin nodded his acquiescence. "We learned how to fight on horseback. It took me forever to get the hang of it without falling off. I always had bruises from the wooden swords."

"It paid off, though, didn't it?" His cousin gave him a look of pride. "Here you are, a fine swordsman just like I always planned to be, but never became…" There was an uncomfortable silence. No one wanted to comment on what had interrupted his training.

Suddenly Amelia spoke up. "Well, while I'm practicing swordsmanship, you can practice with me. You're still my sensei, right?"

Her father looked astounded. "Amelia? Are you saying you're finally over your sword phobia?"

"Oh, Daddy, it wasn't a--" Amelia looked embarrassed. "Let's just say Zelgadis convinced me that it was important to learn to protect myself without magic."

The prince scratched his bushy black head in puzzlement.

Zelgadis reached out to stroke the neck of the red stallion, who eyed him but was steady under his touch. "I used to ride horses like him in hedge-hurdling races. It was such a thrill--" Suddenly he turned and gave Amelia the kind of boyishly enthusiastic grin Kerrin remembered from his childhood. "You've got to try it, Amelia. You're an excellent horsewoman--you'd love it."

"Oh, yes! You told me about it--it sounds like such fun!" She beamed back at him.

Kerrin enjoyed seeing the rare happiness on his cousin's face. _Look at him smile! It makes his whole face light up. _

He noticed Prince Philionel was watching as well. For a moment Kerrin saw a look of regret pass over his face, but then the big man smiled. "Kerrin here was asking if I'd like to own this fine horse, but I already have many of my own. So, Zelgadis, would _you_ like to have him?"

Amelia gave her father an astonished look, then softened. "Oh, Daddy, you're so sweet." She gave him a tender smile.

The prince beamed back at her, his regret at giving up the magnificent stallion obviously more than assuaged by the gladness on the faces of his daughter and son-in-law. Kerrin smiled tenderly. _I'm so lucky to be a part of this family. _He wasn't used to people who made such sacrifices.

Apparently, neither was his cousin. "Thank you, Phil…and Rin." Zelgadis turned toward the stallion, but not before everyone had seen the look of gratefulness shining in the former chimera's eyes.

For a long moment everyone watched Zelgadis, who stood facing away from everyone, stroking the red horse's nose, apparently too overwhelmed to speak. Kerrin glanced at Amelia, then at the prince, who nodded understandingly. "Well, son-in-law, I have some business to take care of, so I must be on my way. Care to join me, Kerrin?"

"Yes, sir." He took a step toward his cousin. "Li, I think we'll leave you alone so you can get acquainted with your new horse."

"What's his name?" Zelgadis spoke softly, still not turning around.

"His registered name is Greywyrs' Fire Spirit. He's really smart, and full of fire, just like his name. And he loves to jump." Kerrin traded smiles with Amelia. "We'll see you at the wedding."

He followed Prince Philionel outside, where the sight of the bright blue sky made him smile. "Isn't it a beautiful day?" he asked, giving in to the urge to take a deep breath of the crisp, refreshing autumn air.

The prince agreed, a broad, contented smile appearing beneath his bushy black mustache. He turned to shut the barn door, but before it was completely closed Kerrin heard Amelia's voice. "Sorry about that. Did Daddy hurt you? Sometimes he doesn't know his own strength. I didn't know he was going to hug you, or I would have warned him about your skin. "

Both of them froze. Kerrin felt a twinge of alarm. _What's the matter with Li? And why didn't he tell us? _Prince Philionel looked concerned.

"Well…it wasn't fun." Zelgadis' voice was quieter than Amelia's. Kerrin and the prince moved closer, peeking around the edge of the door to see the young lovers standing together in front of the red horse's stall. Zelgadis added with a wry smile, "But I think I'll live."

Amelia smiled back, a beautiful smile full of love and appreciation for the kind of subtle humor Kerrin remembered seeing in his cousin when they were younger. _We never met a girl who understood his jokes before. She really is the perfect wife for him. _

He tried to ignore the twinge of wistfulness that hit him whenever he remembered that she might have been his own wife. _She was already in love with him when I met her. _He reminded himself. _And she looks so happy when she's near him. So does he, happier than I've ever seen him in our entire lives… _

Kerrin watched, wide-eyed, as Zelgadis moved to stand next to the raven-haired princess and put a gentle arm around her waist, holding her close to him. _Look at that. I don't think I've _ever _seen him voluntarily hug anybody before. Well, besides me, when I was a little boy. But he stopped doing that a long time ago… _

"What call-name are you going to give him?" Amelia reached up to stroke the stallion's nose. "He's red, so how about Apple, or Cherry? Maybe Bright Star? Or-"

Zelgadis said, "I think I'll call him Blazer."

"Huh?" She cocked her head slightly to the side. "Why 'Blazer'?"

"Partly from his color and markings--he's such a bright red, like fire, and the white spot on his forehead looks like a lightning bolt, but mostly because he's symbolic of my new life here. You see, the phrase 'to blaze a trail' means to break new ground or to lead the way…"

"I like it! It's a bold, beautiful name, _perfect_ for a stallion." She looked thoughtful. "I wonder…if Blazer and Sunny like each other, what would their foals look like? Baby horses are so _cute!" _

The two observers watched the former chimera smile with tender, indulgent affection at the princess' puppyish enthusiasm.

"You'd never know he was the same man," Philionel murmured.

Kerrin watched for a few more moments, then backed away from the door. The prince gently closed it, then turned to head back to the palace. Kerrin followed him, remembering the way the young lovers had looked at each other. His heart grew lighter as he felt his desire for the lovely young princess easing. _They're perfect together. I wonder, _he thought wistfully, _Will I find someone who looks at _me _that way?_

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**Author's Notes: **Another reason Zel picked 'Blazer' is because it's a tougher, more masculine name than anything Amelia would have come up with. He's not all that keen on girly names.

DS--My next vacation is almost here--the first week of April. Aside from some Psychology homework and a couple of days' worth of shopping, I'm going to be devoting a significant chunk of time to my fic--hopefully, finishing it.


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